London, May 27: A controlled explosion of a Second World War bomb wreaked havoc in a part of London, smashing house windows and damaging cars. The bomb was found on a building site in Kingston, south-west London on Thursday. Authorities have evacuated as many as 1500 residents and put a cordon in place before the controlled explosion.

The army was called in following the discovery of a Second World War bomb which is believed to have been an SC250, or Sprengbombe Cylindrisch 250. Locals expected that they would hear a muted bang following the controlled explosion but what they heard on Friday afternoon was a deafening boom that could be heard up to eight miles away, reported Metro.co.uk.

Locals shared pictures of damaged windows and cars on Twitter. "People were crying in the streets, it wasn’t very nice to see really. From what I saw yesterday it was horrible. Most of the house windows down the road were smashed. There was sand everywhere," Keeley Malone wrote. The police said damage had been limited to a 50-yard radius of the detonation.

"The matter of detonating this device was taken with the utmost seriousness and I’d like to thank the Army and the other emergency services for their assistance and support," Chief Superintendent Sally Benatar was quoted as saying.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 27, 2019 05:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).