Traffic backed up on a main autobahn through Germany, the A2, on Sunday as bomb disposal experts gingerly tugged the detonator out of a World War 2 Allied bomb.

The recovery of the unexploded 500kg bomb from the soil of Hanover, northern Germany, had been planned weeks in advance, with 12 000 people ordered to leave their apartments nearby for part of the day.

Most went for walks or excursions.