Shoppers evacuated after bomb discovered at Costa del Sol supermarket

POLICE were forced to evacuate a supermarket in Alhaurin de la Torre on the Costa del Sol, after a bomb was found in a bin in front of the store.

The suspect find was quickly spread by shoppers and neighbours on social media, before it was officially confirmed to be a mortar shell.

The drama began just before 7pm yesterday, when the Guardia Civil in Benemérita received from a member of the public.

He said he had found what appeared to be an explosive device when he went to throw the rubbish into the bin in Avenida de la Calera, in front of a Coviran supermarket, which was “quite busy at the time.”

Officers arrived and discovered there was indeed a device of some kind inside the bin and, as a precaution, the supermarket was evacuated.

Police also cut off the access road, which serves several urbanisations in Alhaurin de la Torre, home to more than 4,500 people.

At the same time, specialists in explosives deactivation (Tedax) of La Benemérita were called in to remove the weapon, implementing necessary security measures to check if it was active.

The mortar shell is believed to date from the Civil War, and an investigation is underway to find out its origin and identify the person who left it in the bin.