The 1,000lb Second World War bomb, unearthed in the Hendon area of Sunderland on Monday evening, was blown up in the early hours of this morning.
Army bomb disposal experts performed a controlled explosion on Hendon Beach, where the bomb had been moved to last night.
Thousands of residents had been evacuated from the the exclusion zone, and were allowed to return to their homes this morning after three nights in temporary accommodation.
The bomb, believed to be from the wreck of a Heinkel bomber which crashed during the Blitz, was reactivated by a digger which was excavating foundations for an extension to the Deerness Park Medical Centre.
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