MILTARY bomb disposal experts were called out to Startforth Park last week after a resident uncovered a detonator while gardening.
The incident was reported to police on Monday afternoon who contacted the Royal Logistic Corps’ bomb disposal team, based at Catterick.
PC David Williamson, from Barnard Castle Police, said: “She was doing some gardening and while digging in the hedge she has found what we believe to be a detonator for a bomb. We have not had a find like that around here before.
“Obviously, we get a lot of shells in the moors, two or three times a year. There was a lot of ordnance taken up there.
“But it is the first time in the 12 years I have been here that we have found anything in Startforth Park.” He added that it may be a remnant from when Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institution was a military camp.
The camp was used by the army from 1803 to 1972.
The experts safely removed the device from the property.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
