A bottle of crystallised acid has been blown up after being found at a secondary school in Cornwall. Royal Navy bomb disposal units were called to Redruth School after a caretaker found an unknown suspect substance on site on Wednesday evening, May 15.
An eyewitness told CornwallLive that they heard a "loud bang" from miles away. A spokesperson for the Royal Navy said a bottle of crystallised acid was found near the old sixth form part of the school and that explosive ordnance disposal experts were sent to investigate.
The substance was moved a small distance away as it was deemed to unstable to be moved further. It was then detonated in a controlled explosion by ordnance experts. A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "They were called out to check it over and it was found by a caretaker in a part of the school which he said was the old sixth form, which isn't used very often now.
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"They cleared it out and found this crystallised acid substance in a bottle. They took the decision rather than take it away, they took it a short distance from the school and carried out a controlled explosion, just to get rid of it, because it was probably too unstable to move around.
"The bomb disposal crew from Devonport are really grateful for the vigilance and alertness of the public and particularly the school."
He added that they would like to thank the caretaker who found the substance for taking the right course of action.
Redruth School head teacher Craig Bonds said the school is safe and "fully operational" today (Thursday, May 16) following the incident. In a statement given to parents and carers, he wrote: "We wanted to let you know that Redruth School was visited by Devon and Cornwall Police last night in response to the location of a potentially hazardous substance.
"This incident was not of a threatening nature. The substance was quickly neutralised, and therefore the school site is safe and fully operational. Thank you for the fast response and action taken by our services."
A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police has told CornwallLive there was a chemical which was believed to be hazardous at the school site. They said: "Police were notified at around 5.10pm on Wednesday, May 15 following reports of a chemical believed to be potentially hazardous located on the Redruth School site. The Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended and neutralized the substance nearby."
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