WWII bomb dampens the holiday spirit in Ghent

It was not Christmas as usual in Ghent, but one that many will remember after an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered in a residential garden.

The Christmas Eve surprise forced around a hundred people within 300 metres of the explosive device to put their festivities on hold and vacate the area. Thirty people had to leave their homes.

To make matters worse, the dangerous find combined with horrible weather conditions also reaped havoc on rail commuters as trains along the country’s busiest route were delayed.

The Belgian army’s bomb disposal unit, called to the scene, reported that the British-made bomb measured one metre by 30 centimetres. 

Ghent was the site of a major allied bombing campaign in 1944 to eradicate the Nazis from the country, making the discovery of bombs a fairly regular occurrence since the end of the war.