Region's forgotten war relics HUNDREDS of unexploded bombs remain scattered across Merseyside, according to a city historian. Steve Binns said many of the World War II missiles dropped on the region did not go off and have lain dormant ever since. He believes most of those are actually at the bottom of the River Mersey. Merseyside was hit by 68 air raids between August 1940 and January 1942. Mr Binns, Liverpool Council's historian, said: "There will be hundreds of unexploded bombs still undiscovered. Many of them will have been sabotaged by the German munitions workers. "Some will just not have gone off. "A 1,000lb bomb is quite unusual for the time. It's very large, most were much smaller." Dozens of bombs have been found in the region, though not many on the same scale as yesterday's discovery. Four years ago a man walked into Belle Vale police station with an unexploded bomb after finding it when he dug up his garden. It sparked a massive evacuation of the station and surrounding streets while the bomb squad was drafted in. A second one was discovered just yards away, which experts dated back to World War One. In 1994 treasure hunter Rico Oldfield found five mortar shells as he walked along Formby beach. The Army was called in to dispose of them. And 16 years ago hundreds of families were evacuated after council workers unearthed a bomb on Stanley Park Avenue North, near where two ammunitions trains had been blown up during the war. More recently the legacy of the Blitz has seen builders in Liverpool undergo special training after a survey showed the Grosvenor development area around Paradise Street contained several bombs. Professor John Belchem, of the Department of History, Liverpool University, said the bomb was a relic of one of the most traumatic times in the city's history.. He is author a new history of the city, to be published in 2007, to coincide with its 800th anniversary. Professor Belchem said: "More than 4,000 died and 6,500 homes were completely destroyed." | 
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