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Dozens more mortar shells found during work on Burntwood housing estate

A large number of mortar shells have been discovered on a building site in Burntwood forcing businesses to evacuate.

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Mortars

The shells were found by Staffordshire Police on the site near Milestone Way, in Chasetown, and a 200m (656ft) cordon was soon after put in place.

Members of the public are being advised to stay away from the area near Morrisons supermarket while police deal with the shells.

The discovery comes after multiple unexploded devices have been found near the same site over the last two years.

The site was previously occupied by ES Smith which recovered war weapons.

On the unfolding incident, a Staffordshire Police spokesperson said: "We are advising people to stay away from the area while we deal with this incident and thank everyone for their patience and cooperation."

Morrisons has been unaffected by the drama and remained open today.

Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on a suspected mortar found on the site last September.

The explosive device was found as digging work took place on the site on the A5190 Milestone Way in Chasetown.

In other cases building work on a housing estate in Burntwood had to be halted in March 2016 after two unexploded bombs were discovered in less than three weeks.

Developers Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes were behind the plans to build 150 homes at Milestone Way.

The properties will consist of 40 four-bedroom homes, 64 three-bed, 33 two-bed, a one-bed house and nine two-bedroom apartments.