Thousands evacuated in Rennes, France after WWII bomb discovered

© AFP

Rennes, France: a series of bombs from the Second World War have been found

Three thousand people were evacuated from their homes in the centre of the French city of Rennes Sunday while a huge British bomb from World War II was defused.

The 250-kilogramme (550-pound) bomb was found near the city's town hall during the building of a new metro line in the capital of the Brittany region of western France, mayor Nathalie Appere told AFP.

She said it was packed with 70 kilos of high explosives and police bomb disposal experts faced a very "delicate operation" to disarm it.

Police evacuated all homes and businesses within 270 metres (yards) of the scene, including a fire station and 90 residents of a home for the elderly while the operation took place.

Rennes, a major railway junction, was the target of several raids by Britain's RAF during the war, including a major attack in 1944.