West London auction house evacuated after good Samaritan brings in unexploded Soviet bombs
An industrial estate in west London had to be evacuated after a member of the public brought unexploded Cold War bombs to an auction house for a routine valuation.
The man thought he was helping an elderly neighbor by bringing his military equipment.
But Chiswick Auctions staff were alarmed when crated anti-tank mines and mortar rounds were found in Harrods tote bags.
A military expert determined that these were Soviet Cold War-era munitions similar to those still used today in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The police were called with the participation of specialist response teams and the industrial area where the auctioneers were located was evacuated.
X-rays of the ordnance were examined by bomb disposal experts and live ammunition was removed, after which hundreds of people working in the area were allowed to return to their units more than an hour later.
Auctioneers said the unsuspecting seller “had no idea what he was dealing with.”
Auctioneer John Rogers said: “On a routine valuation day, a member of the public turned up with various militia on behalf of an elderly neighbour.
“Our appraiser, James Bruce, who has a background in militarism, began appraising what initially appeared to be empty magazine cases.
“However, the situation quickly escalated with the production of an ammunition belt of 7.65 caliber machine gun bullets and subsequent opening of a cased anti-tank mine on the valuation table.
“The seller had no idea what he was dealing with and alarm bells rang.”
Mr. Rogers said the auction house’s managing director, Matt Caddick, who is a licensed firearms owner and has additional military expertise, was called in.
“At this stage, crated mortar shells were also placed on the table.
“Both experts immediately identified the potential danger posed by items believed to contain World War II and Soviet Union/China Cold War munitions if they were still operational.
“We contacted the authorities and the entire industrial site, where hundreds of people worked, was evacuated.
“Police and specialist incident response teams responded quickly and bomb disposal experts examined the items.
“Following X-rays and proper safety procedures, the live ammunition was removed safely.
“Staff and neighboring businesses were allowed to return to their premises just over an hour later.
“The remaining militaria supplies were evaluated and deemed ineffective and unsafe for civilian possession.
“The incident both highlights the unpredictable nature of external valuations.
“You see all kinds of items, but no one had brought live Cold War bombs before.
“Apparently Soviet mines and mortars are still being used in the Ukrainian war today.”
The incident occurred at around 10.30 on Tuesday.
