“From the first knock on the door to alert us to the dangers, to the reception at the sports centre, the professional precision of all the agencies working together proved to be a textbook exemplar of how emergencies should be managed.

“It was truly inspiring to see the town, district and county councils working closely to ensure that there was calm reassurance and concern for the welfare of everyone.” – Cllr Wragg

How Exmouth bomb evacuees rallied together with fish and chips, wine and ‘holiday’ vibes

They had to sleep at a leisure centre but spirits were high

Molly Seaman and Shannon Brown Senior Reporter www.devonlive.com/

Officials spent the morning packing up the camping beds and tea mugs at the LED in Exmouth as the last of the bomb evacuees were allowed to return home.

It sounds like the start of a war-time novel but it was the reality for the thousands of residents evacuated from their homes when a 250kg bomb was found during dredging in Exmouth Marina on Wednesday, January 13.

The explosive was taken out to sea in the early hours of Friday morning (January 16) and detonated at around 8.12am. The 5,500 people evacuated are able to return to their homes and life is continuing as normal.

Businesses have been allowed to reopen along the waterfront today and children were able to return to their schools.

Despite the fear and worry felt by Exmouth residents, with one woman comparing it to coronavirus lockdown as the streets fell quiet, some found ways to lighten the atmosphere and brighten each other’s days.

In particular, praise has been piled on the LED leisure centre, which became a hub for residents with nowhere else to go, and housed around 120 people on Wednesday night.

Residents Lou and Sue, and their neighbour Gail, were evacuated from their homes and stayed at the LED while the cordon was in place.

Speaking about last night in the LED, Lou told the BBC: “Everybody’s been smiley faced, we’ve all enjoyed it. We bought a couple of bottles of wine last night and we’ve had fish and chips. I thought I was on holiday.”

A ‘party atmosphere’ was described on Thursday night, despite there only being around 20 people left in the temporary accommodation. Biscuits and chocolate were reportedly shared round, and people were chatting late into the night.

Lou continued in an interview with BBC Radio Devon: “We decided to stay in our own houses the first night, and then yesterday they came and said that [the risk] had gone up to a category 3, and we really must leave our houses.

“So with a struggle, we did leave our house because Gail said she was coming out as well and I don’t regret it for one minute, it’s been absolutely fantastic in here. I wasn’t going to leave but Sue persuaded me because she started crying, but I’m quite stubborn, but I know being ex-forces, I should have gone right away, but I didn’t.

“But it was brilliant, honestly, here, from the top to the bottom, they’ve been absolutely fantastic. They’ve treated us like gold.

“Anybody tells me that we’ve lost our spirit in this country, which I did believe, I think we’ve got it back, definitely, because I would rate last night as everybody coming together and smiling, having a laugh, having a joke. It was great.”

Several people said their experience put into context their night or two away compared to the prolonged ordeal people faced in past wartimes or during the current conflicts elsewhere in the world.

Sue added: “We’re lucky just to have [only] spent a night away. Those poor people have got nothing.”

Exmouth councillor Eileen Wragg was also among those evacuated. She told DevonLive: “What could have been a chaotic situation turned out to be the opposite.

“From the first knock on the door to alert us to the dangers, to the reception at the sports centre, the professional precision of all the agencies working together proved to be a textbook exemplar of how emergencies should be managed.

“It was truly inspiring to see the town, district and county councils working closely to ensure that there was calm reassurance and concern for the welfare of everyone.”

She said their efforts brought calm to what could have been a “distressing predicament’ and also commended the “immense courage and bravery” of the bomb disposal team.

Cllr Wragg added: “We are hugely grateful to all the service agencies and multitude of willing volunteers who helped to bring this frightening episode to a peaceful conclusion, albeit with a big bang.”

Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Nicki Leaper agreed there was a “real community spirit”.

She said: “I cannot thank residents of Exmouth enough. Their collective effort to get out of their homes was appreciated. We don’t take this lightly. We had to extend the cordon and I know how frustrating that can be. It’s people’s sanctuaries.

“The multi-agency partnership working over 72 hours, I’m so proud of all our partners. We are trained to do this.”

Councillor Paul Arnott, Deputy Leader of Devon County Council and Leader of East Devon District Council, said local Tesco branches also helped with deliveries of food and duvets. He praised all the organisations and volunteers, including the Red Cross and the town council, who helped to oversee the safe resolution of the incident.