Fifty homes were today evacuated when workmen dug up an unexploded World War II bomb near the centre of a Co Derry village.
Residents in Moneymore were moved to the recreation centre for three hours and an exclusion zone was put in place to divert traffic while Army bomb experts assessed the danger.
The device, thought to be a mortar, was discovered on Station Road around 11am. It was described by police as rusty, about a foot long with fins on it.
Jacqueline McKay, who works at the recreation centre, said the residents seemed to be relaxed about the situation — even though one of them had just got out of the shower when a soldier knocked on her door and told her to leave.
"I made them all a cup of tea and they seemed quite happy. Eventually the police called and said they could go back home," she said.
An army spokesman said it was a routine operation and that the bomb was incapable of exploding.