Exmouth coastguard rescue team were involved in the major operation to deal with an unexploded World War Two bomb in Exeter at the weekend.

The 1,000kg Hermann device, eight feet long and 27 inches wide, was found at an allotment in a residential area near Exeter University on Friday.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes, including 1,400 students living in a hall of residence near the site.

Exmouth Coastguard was among the emergency services drafted in to help with the huge multi-agency operation to set up and enforce a 400-metre cordon around the bomb, prior to a controlled detonation.

Other coastguard officers from Beer, Teignmouth, Torbay, Prawle, Yealm and Tamar were also involved, along with the fire service, Dartmoor Mountain Rescue, police and the armed forces.

What did the coastguard teams do?

The coastguard teams were given the job of informing local residents about the incident on Friday. The first to attend were stood down in the early hours of Saturday, and a second team arrived a few hours later to start making a final sweep of the university campus to make sure everyone living, working or studying there had been safely evacuated.

The bomb was detonated on Saturday evening soon after 6pm. Around 400 tonnes of sand and ballast was used to cover it, but there was still a massive explosion that could be seen for miles. The blast blew out windows and doors in nearby properties and damaged some of the roofs.

Some of the residents living nearest to the site had to spend a third night away from home, but those living further away were able to return on Sunday evening.

Exmouth Coastguard posted updates on Facebook describing their involvement in the operation, along with a YouTube video showing the moment the bomb exploded.