US jet drops 'bomb' on East Yorkshire

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-961501,00.html

A US fighter-bomber dropped a dummy bomb on an industrial estate in East Yorkshire, the US Air Force admitted today.

An F-15E Strike Eagle, flying from its base at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, released the 25lb dummy munition during a routine training mission on Thursday evening.

It landed on private land used by the Allied Grain plant on the Holme Industrial Estate in Holme upon Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire, according to witnesses.

An investigation into the cause of the incident is under way.

First Lieutenant Augustine O Ekpoudom, an RAF Lakenheath spokesman, said: "At approximately 5.15pm January 8, a 25lb BDU-33 training munition from an F-15E Strike Eagle landed in a sparsely populated area near Howden and Market Weighton in Northern England.

"There were no injuries, limited property damage, and the inert munition was recovered.

"The F-15E Strike Eagle was conducting a routine training mission at the time of the incident.

"Trained and experienced base personnel including Ministry of Defence, and local constabulary authorities responded to the scene and an investigation team is determining the cause the incident.”

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said officers had helped in the search for the bomb.

Des D'Souza, a spokesman for Allied Grain, said: "An inert object fell to the ground in an area where we have some grain stores in East Yorkshire.

It caused no disruption to our business whatsoever, apart from when they came to retrieve it.

"It scratched the surface of the concrete but that was all. No real damage."

One woman, who lives close to the industrial estate but asked not to be named, said she saw lines of police scouring the area where the device landed on Thursday. There was no sign of any damage from the perimeter fence today.

Lt Ekpoudom confirmed the dummy bomb crashed through an area of concrete close to industrial buildings. He said it came to rest just below the surface leaving an 18-inch (45cm) hole.

Asked whether the "bomb" had been released by accident or had missed a target, he answered unapologetically that this was a matter for the ongoing investigation.