This is the moment an unexploded World War Two landmine was blown up after being discovered on a farm by a metal detector. 

The owners of family-run Apsley Farms in Andover had an unusual Friday yesterday after a WWII landmine was found in one of their fields.

Edward du Val, operations manager of Apsley Farms, told The Advertiser: “We recently cut the fields for harvest early as we silage all of our crops for energy production of gas and electricity by anaerobic digestion.

“This made the land available for metal detectorists to go out, following social distancing measures.”  

And the metal detectorist got quite a shock when they discovered an undetonated WWII explosive, yesterday afternoon.

Mr du Val said: “The landmine must have been left here by the Canadian army who were using the land in preparation for D-Day.

“We have been very lucky, we’ve been ploughing these fields for 50 years.

He added: “It is quite worrying. You don’t know if there are more out there. We have been cultivating these fields for 50 years. I hope it’s not going to happen again.”

Once the discovery was made, they called 999 and bomb disposal experts arrived to carry out a controlled explosion.

They placed around one grenade’s worth of explosive to blow up the device however experts said the Canadian landmine itself carried around 27 times the amount of explosive.

In a video, shared with The Advertiser, the clip starts with the picturesque farmland appearing serene under a cloudy July sky.

But five seconds in, a loud bang disturbs the peace – and a man off-camera who, in exclamation, says: “Jesus!”.

Plumes of black suddenly fill the field as the hidden device is exploded, after more than five decades of laying dormant.

The group watching on then laugh in relief with a short round of applause, praising the quick work of the bomb disposal team.

Andover Advertiser: The moment the explosion was carried outThe moment the explosion was carried out

In a post to Facebook, the team at Apsley Farms wrote: “What a day we have had on the farm.

“We let metal detectorists come and search for hidden gems that have been left behind but one detectorist today came across an anti-tank landmine.

“The bomb squad were called and a few hours later, they detonated it with a controlled explosion.

“The ground was used in World War II by the Canadian Army as a staging ground for D-Day.

“With tractors passing over this land, year after year, we are all relieved that it had remained undisturbed.”

Apsley Farms has been in the du Val family for five generations and can be traced back to 1928.

The family-run business producing crops for its biogas plant which produces enough gas to heat 8,500 houses all year round. They also produce food grade Co2 as a bi-product for the drinks industry.