Two men were injured and gardens were showered with debris when a box full of detonators exploded at a builder’s yard in the Merkinch area of Inverness yesterday.
Locals described hearing two blasts – one that sounded like a firework and a second several minutes later that sounded like a bomb.
Streets were cordoned off and an Army bomb-disposal team was called in after the incident at T.M. Fraser’s premises in Thornbush Road.
Two staff from neighbouring store Blackbridge Furnishings are understood to have run into the street to investigate the first explosion, only to be hit by flying debris from the second.
Both men were treated for cuts and bruises.
Firefighters said a box holding up to 100 “old-style” detonators – once used in the quarrying industry – had caught fire in a container in the yard and then exploded.
Inverness-based fire crews hosed down the box containing the detonators after the explosions.
As a precaution, police cordoned off a large stretch of Thornbush Road, as well as Anderson Street, which runs behind the builder’s yard.
An ambulance crew was also on standby.
Police advised residents to stay inside with their doors and windows closed as gardens were searched for detonators.
Some locals also gathered at the Merkinch Community Centre, where Highland Council staff provided them with food and drinks.
Mother-of-three Gillian Hinsley, 25, who lives in Manchester but is staying with relatives at a house across the road from the yard, heard the explosions.
She said: “I was in the house and my kids were in the back garden when I heard the first explosion.
“It wasn’t too loud and sounded like a firework going off, but the second one was a few minutes later and it was far louder.
“It sounded like a bomb going off. At first I thought the kids had done something, but when I looked out the front at the yard, I saw some smoke.
“Parts of the detonators had landed in my neighbour’s garden, while other bits were on the street.”
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I had seen that there was some form of fire in the yard earlier in the day. I don’t know if they were burning materials or what.
“I heard the explosions. They made quite a big bang and gave me a fright.”
The blasts happened shortly before 12.30pm.
No one was in the yard at the time.
A bomb-disposal team from the Edinburgh-based Royal Logistic Corps arrived at 3.45pm.
About 5.30pm, they removed the remaining detonators and put them in a special storage unit, which was then taken to the Longman landfill site and destroyed in a controlled explosion about 6.45pm.
Last night, police and the fire brigade were carrying out a joint investigation into the incident, which is not being treated as suspicious.
Staff from T.M. Fraser have been interviewed and one of the firm’s owners said last night he had been advised by police not to discuss the matter.
Inspector Ian Graham said: “The incident is not being treated as suspicious. We have traced the owners of the site, who were not there at the time of the explosions.
“We cordoned off the street as a precaution and we are now carrying out a joint investigation into the incident. Two men received minor injuries during the incident, both of whom were treated by ambulances at the site and did not require hospital treatment.
“Bomb-disposal experts have confirmed that the explosives were old-style detonators, which used to be used for explosions in quarries.”
Inverness fire station group manager Robert Scott said: “A box containing between 50 and 100 detonators had caught fire in a unit in the yard.”
Inverness Central councillor Donnie Kerr, who was at the scene yesterday, said: “I think there was a bit of upheaval but most people would agree that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“It is worrying that detonators are being stored in containers so near to houses. That is something that I think the police and other agencies should be looking into.”