LIFE was returning to normal for a North-East community last night after the safe detonation of a Second World War bomb which had wreaked havoc on residents.

Following the potential devastation the German 1,000lb bomb could have caused, one of the only victims of the blast was a pub landlord, who lost three pairs of leaded windows as a result of the controlled explosion which was carried out on a Sunderland beach, at 1.25am yesterday.

Steve McBride, of the Hendon Grange pub, Ocean Road, said: "I got a shock when I heard the blast and then I heard the glass smash and thought it was windows outside."

Nearby, Edward Thompson printers lost 12 hours production when workers were not allowed past police lines, and a number of its windows were broken.

Superintendent Paul Weir, of Sunderland police, said: "This was a major incident that was brought to a successful outcome through a lot of effort and good teamwork.

"Police officers, Sunderland City Council and the military, as well as numerous other agencies, have all put in a great deal of time and effort in helping to resolve the situation.

He added: "It was particularly pleasing to see the camaraderie that was shown by those evacuated from the Hendon area in adverse circumstances, which clearly inconvenienced them.

"Throughout the incident, they maintained a real community spirit that we encourage and would like to see even more."

The bomb was unearthed on Monday evening by digger driver Charlie Farn, who had been sub-contracted to dig foundations for an extension to the Deerness Park Medical Centre, in Suffolk Street, Hendon.

More than 3,000 people were evacuated from a 400metre exclusion zone, while a further 1,000 people refused to leave their homes.

About 300 people stayed in two schools while a further 100 residents of sheltered housing were taken to a day care centre.

Following a delicate operation, the bomb was moved to a beach next to Salterfern Rocks, Hendon, where it was placed in a trench.

In one moment of high farce an oil tanker driver was stopped at a police cordon just as the countdown to the detonation was announced.

When police refused to let him through he hurled abuse at them before being forced to reverse up the road.

The blast, which was heard for miles around, left a huge crater in the rocks beneath the cliff face