A WW2 bomb found between Queensbridge Road (above) and Albion Road in Hackney was removed by police Pic: David Holt

An unexploded WW2 bomb found in Hackney last week has been made safe.

The bomb found caused closures on Queensbridge road and Albion Drive.

The Metropolitan Police told Eastlondonlines: “Officers attended along with specialist officers. The device was made safe.”

It is estimated that more than 12,000 metric tonnes of bombs were dropped on London, during the blitz of the Second World War, with the East End being the one of the most affected areas.

In August last year, an unexploded WW2 bomb caused the evacuation of 700 people in Bethnal Green, with a 200m exclusion zone being set up around the device.

And between 2006 and 2008, around 15,000 items of unexploded artillery were removed from UK construction sites.

Zetica, a company that specialises in unexploded bomb risks said: “An estimated 10 per cent of bombs dropped during WWII failed to explode. These bombs can still pose a threat to activities such as piling, drilling, tunnelling and excavations in high risk areas.”

Mike Sainsbury, managing director of Zetica, told Eastlondonlines: “There is significant scare mongering about fuze mechanisms or explosives becoming more sensitive over time, but such instances are quite rare.”

But even after 75 years of the Blitz, it is still common for unexploded WW2 bombs to be detected. A WW2 bomb census map by Bomb Sight reveals how many bombs were dropped on London during the Blitz between October 7, 1940 and June 6, 1941.

A screenshot from Bomb Site showing bombs that fell on Hackney.

Sainsbury talks of his involvement in dealing with bombs and said: “Our involvement in industry guidance has indicated that a UXO company can deal with several thousands of items a year. We recently dealt with three 500lb bombs and throughout the year we deal with many smaller items.”