Army destroys chemical find

A bomb disposal team was called to the street

Army bomb disposal teams have carried out a series of controlled explosions on containers filled with unknown chemicals found at a house in the Black Country.

Residents in Bowker Street, off Willenhall Road, Wednesfield, were evacuated from their homes on Monday evening after police raided a house and found a gun which fires blanks, ammunition components and chemicals, including fertilisers.

Police evacuated the residents once again on Wednesday as army bomb disposal teams began a series of tests on the house using an army robot device.

The quiet cul-de-sac was cordoned off while a large number of containers filled with chemicals were taken out of the bungalow to be safely destroyed in a nearby field.

'Potential explosion'

Detective superintendent Paddy Mulligan, of West Midlands Police, said: "There are so many chemicals there that they are unsure of exactly what chemicals we are dealing with.

"We simply don't want to take the risk of taking them through an urban area with the potential for an explosion."

Residents in the street were allowed back into their homes shortly after the explosion took place just after 1900 BST.

One said: "It's just a bit of turmoil really. It's the upheaval of it, having to leave the house."

Another added: "You read about it in the papers but when its on your doorstep its frightening really."

A 23-year-old man has now been charged under the explosives act and will appear in court on Thursday.