Anxious parents have spoken of their relief after a search for unexploded weapons under their children’s play park drew a blank.
Moray Council called a team of bomb disposal experts to the land at Elgin’s Pinefield Crescent after learning more about its history as the site of a World War II barracks.
However, the fears of local families were short-lived as the experts recovered just two practice bullets dating from 1943 – along with various other items of metal – during Monday’s hunt.
The investigation was prompted after wartime aerial photographs of the site indicated a series of defensive trenches, which would have been used for training purposes.
As the ordnance survey team explored the area with metal detectors and digging equipment, several parents refused to let their children play near the green.
Speaking from the park yesterday, two mums, who stay next to the play area, welcomed the news that the findings had proved less than spectacular.
Becky Leech said: “We are relieved it’s clear and very glad the bullets have been removed by Moray Council.
“It’s a relatively quiet area, but I didn’t know a lot about the history of it.
“There are quite a lot of kids around. They use this area a lot, so well done to the council.”
Helen Oakley added: “The park is always full, especially in the summer, so it’s good they checked it.”
A council spokesman said: “While the likelihood of encountering unexploded ordnance at this site was considered to be relatively low, we required the survey to give us confidence that there were no ordnance related items at a depth that people could encounter.
“We hope that this will give the residents assurance regarding the level of risk as a result of the area’s historic military use.”
A similar survey was carried out in the playing field of West End primary school last year – and again no explosives were found.