A WORLD War II bomb found at a Southampton building site has been blown up in the Solent.

A Royal Navy bomb disposal team carried out the explosion a couple of miles off the Southampton coast at 12.30pm today.

A Navy spokesman said unexploded German bomb was exploded in water about 20m deep.

Lieutenant Al Nekrews said: "Chief Petty Officer Kev Amaira and Diver Stu Ricketts did a sterling job through the night, safely transporting the ordnance from Southampton to the Solent so that we could proceed with the task today to explode the bomb in a safe and controlled manner."

The 45kg device was removed from the London Road site at about 6am this morning and the police cordon lifted.