POLICE had a full-scale bomb scare on their hands when two home-made pipe bombs were found in a school field.
A passer-by discovered the rough-and-ready devices in the grounds of Oxclose Infant School, in Brancepeth Road, Oxclose Village, Washington, on Wearside, on Sunday afternoon.
Bomb squad officers sealed off the area while they examined the pipe bombs, which consisted of two metal tubes containing low grade firework-type explosives.
When they arrived, one of them had already been exploded.
A police spokesman said that, although there was no terrorist connection, the bombs were being treated as suspicious objects.
Detective Inspector Gavin Hedley, of Northumbria Police, said: "If they were detonated, it may well be that they could have caused serious injuries, indeed loss of life."
A police spokesman said the devices were likely to have been placed by youngsters experimenting. Last night, experts were examining the contents of the unexploded bomb to ascertain exactly what it contains.
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