Two unexploded bombs found at Dunwich Heath after wildfire

The blaze, which broke out last month at Dunwich Heath, destroyed more than 100 hectares of heathland and uncovered unexploded wartime bombs.

With the bomb squad already called to deal with two devices, drones will now be brought in to help map safe routes across the devastated heath.

The National Trust said the ordnances are a legacy of World War Two training exercises carried out in the area.

The devices were likely buried beneath the soil but have been brought to the surface by the fire (Image: Justin Minns/National Trust/PA Wire)

Matt Wilson, coast and countryside manager for the National Trust’s Suffolk and Essex Coast portfolio, said: "There’s no right for people to access this site at the moment because it’s dangerous.

"During this fire event, at least two unexploded ordnance have been found and they’ve had to be remotely detonated."

Known as Operation Kruschen, the training at Dunwich Heath involved constructing features similar to German fortifications to prepare Allied troops for the D-Day landings.

So far, two pieces of unexploded ordnance, including a phosphorus mortar and a mortar fuse, have been remotely detonated.

The phosphorus mortar was found just over the boundary into Minsmere, near the nature reserve.

Mr Wilson warned that more buried explosives could remain.

He said: "Much of the site had been covered by vegetation for decades.

"Now there’s no vegetation barrier so theoretically people could, when they’re allowed access back in, walk across the landscape and come across something that has been buried since the 1940s.

"Out on site, our biggest priority is the unexploded ordnance surveys.

"We’re looking at doing low-level drone surveys looking for ferrous metals."

The National Trust has closed public access to Dunwich Heath and asked the public to stay away for their own safety.

People are warned to stay away with more explosive devices likely to be at the site (Image: Justin Minns/National Trust/PA Wire)

Mr Wilson said: "The most important thing for us now is to emphasise that the site is closed.

"It’s closed for really good reasons.

"I know there will be a fascination with disaster tourism and people wanting to come and see the damage for themselves, but the site is closed and it will remain closed until such time as we know that it’s safe to be able to come back in and we can’t put a timescale on that."

The fire service said on Monday that the fire has been stood down as a major incident but crews remain on scene damping down the affected area and monitoring for hotspots.

Mr Wilson also said that the fire service moved ground to create new fire breaks during the operation, raising further concerns.

He said: "We’ve got a lot of disturbed ground that wasn’t disturbed before… a huge amount of earth has been moved and there’s a really high risk that within that earth movement there could be unexploded ordnance."

A drone survey will be carried out to help identify safe routes before soil testing begins.