More than 26,000 people have been evacuated in the western German town of Paderborn so bomb specialists could remove a World War II-era bomb discovered during construction work.

In addition to people leaving their homes, two hospitals, a university and several nursing homes had to be evacuated.

Specialists defused the 1.8 ton heavy British bomb on Sunday, more than a week after it was found by construction workers in a garden, only 80 centimeters (31 inches) under the ground.

The German news agency dpa reported that more than 1,000 firefighters, police and emergency personnel were involved in the evacuation.

Even more than 70 years after the end of the war, bombs and other munitions still turn up regularly during construction work in Germany — a testament to the ferocity of World War II.

(AP)