Georgina Barnes
BBC South West

• A World War Two bomb found in Plymouth is currently being disarmed by bomb disposal experts with the council saying it remains "a live operation" that will last "into the afternoon"
• Two loud thuds have been heard at the scene, with police drones hovering above
• The army previously said the 250kg bomb wasn't safe to move and plans to detonate it where it is - at a building site in the Southway area
• More than 1,200 homes have been evacuated and people, alongside their pets, have been directed to Southway Youth and Community Centre in Hendwell Close

You can listen to BBC Radio Devon for more coverage.

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

The council says the operation to make the unexploded device in Southway safe is likely to continue "into the afternoon" and urges residents not to return to the area.

It says it will confirm when the work has been completed, and when it is safe people to return.

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

A housing association says it has been "hugely involved" and is supporting more than 340 residents within the 400m cordon from where people have been evacuated.

Plymouth Community Homes says its teams have been directly supporting them from the start, including overnight, at the Southway Community Centre and has put more than 47 people into hotels or Airbnbs.

It says: "There has been consistent direct communication through text messages and face-to-face to engage with them.

"We've also made payments to everyone in the 400m cordon evacuated to help cover food and other urgent costs, as well as buying food vouchers and a lot of other things."

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

A mum, who left her home with her three children and dog in the early hours of Wednesday morning, says she is "a bit nervous but hopefully everything will be ok.”

Talking about the teams on site, especially the bomb disposal specialists, Emma Partridge said: "Hats off to them, they're incredible people.

"They're heroes really because what else would we do without them?"

Image source, Emma

Jenny Kumah
BBC South West England Correspondent

Thuds have been heard in the Southway area of Plymouth as bomb disposals experts work to disarm the World War Two device.

This was the first one.

Jenny Kumah
BBC South West England Correspondent

I've just heard another "thud" from the edge of the cordon next to Oakwood Primary School.

As work continues to make the device safe, these pictures are from the scene this morning.

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

Plymouth City Council says the operation to make the unexploded device in Southway safe began at about 08:15 BST.

The authority said: "As this remains a live operation, we are unable to provide further detail. Updates will be shared once confirmation is received that the device has been made safe."

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

British Army officer and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist Col Nick Handy said on Thursday evening there was someone listening to the fuse of the unexploded ordnance device "constantly".

Handy said this was to make sure it didn't start "ticking".

"We have to be really careful," he said.

"It's a process we do very carefully and very slowly to make sure we get to a point where we can advise the goal commander that we're in a position that we're happy to make that decision to detonate."

Jenny Kumah
BBC South West England Correspondent

We can now see quite a lot of activity by the bomb disposal vehicle and what looks like some kind of robot has been moving around near it.

The police drone is still hovering in the sky.

Jenny Kumah
BBC South West England Correspondent

I’m at the edge of the cordon right next to Oakwood Primary School which is closed for a second day.

I just heard the words “standby” and a large thud.

Apart from that it’s been quiet but busy with police and military vehicles and officers. We can see the Aldi superstore which is near the building site where the bomb was discovered. A police drone is hovering up above in the sky.

There has been no official confirmation the controlled explosion has taken place.

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

A woman who is staying in an Airbnb with her partner on Dartmoor after being evacuated from the cordoned area in Plymouth says she was allowed home yesterday to feed her "scraggly" 18-year-old cat.

Lisa Clark says volunteers from Mountain Rescue and Dartmoor Search and Rescue teams were escorting residents to their homes who needs to collect medication, rescue pets or help those who needed assistance with evacuating.

She says: "There's quite the operation going on.

"There's loads of volunteers that are walking into this rather than walking away from it.

"It's really impressive."

Lisa says she thinks their home is far enough away from the building site to be in danger from the detonation, and if anywhere is going to take the biggest impact, it will be the library, shops and church in the vicinity of the device.

“I’m hoping there’s no damage to my property."

She also said she now understands why they were asked to open their windows before leaving their properties.

"I thought it was something to do with gas build up but it now makes sense to mitigate against the windows imploding if the blast is that big.”

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

Plymouth City Council has advised schools within the cordon to close for the safety of their students, families and staff members.

Oakwood Primary School, Little Acorns Pre-School and Beechwood Primary School remain closed today.

Widewell Primary School, near the cordon, said it continued to be in contact with relevant authorities who had advised them on Thursday it would be "safe" for them to open today, but this decision remains under "constant review".

It said on social media, external: "While safety is always our absolute priority, we are also very mindful of the emotional impact this situation is having on our school community and are committed to supporting you all through this difficult time."

Reporter Angela Kalwaites is outside the community hub in Southway and says everything is "quiet so far".

She says a controlled detonation is expected today.

"The Army says it will attempt to deflagrate it, which means to burn rapidly with intense heat and spark, and is often used to describe low explosives or substances that combust instantly rather than detonating.

"We are just waiting to find out when that might be done."

Zhara Simpson
BBC South West

• The device was found on a building site in the Southway area of Plymouth on Wednesday.
• Experts have since confirmed it as a 250kg German SC250 bomb from WW2, and more than 1,200 households have been evacuated within a 400m cordon (1,300ft).
• Royal Navy bomb disposal experts have been working to make the ordnance safe, and confirmed on Thursday it would too dangerous to move and there will therefore be a controlled detonation today. Sand will be placed in containers around the bomb to try to protect nearby buildings from the detonation.
• Plymouth City Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, the bomb disposal experts and British Army, as well as volunteers have been working to keep the public safe and informed.

• For the hundreds of households evacuated within the 400m cordon, the Southway Youth and Community Centre opened its doors as an evacuation hub where many people, and their pets, have been staying.

Image source, Royal Navy

Emma Hallett
BBC News, reporting from Southway

Since leaving their home on Clittaford Road Natasha Granville and Scott Bowhay have been moved to a hotel near the waterfront.

Reacting to the news the bomb would be detonated in situ Mr Bowhay said he was "very worried" about their house.

"If you remember the one that they let go in Exeter and it made all the damages, the property damages, that lingers," he said.

He said they had recently moved into the house and while he knows the Navy has said it will put in mitigation to reduce the impact of the explosion, he is still concerned.

But Ms Granville added: "You think they would learn from what's happened before.

"Hopefully that means they know to keep it as safe as they can.

"I mean, they can't move it, so there's nothing they can do but detonate it where it is."

"They are the experts," Mr Bowhay said.

Later today a World War Two bomb found in Plymouth is expected to be detonated where it was found in the Southway area of the city.

On Thursday, Col Nick Handy said teams would work through the night to put large quantities of sand around the bomb to "limit most of the damage" to the surrounding area.

The 250kg German SC250 bomb could not be moved because its fuses could not be fully assessed.

Image source, Royal Navy

We're ending today's coverage, but here's a recap of what's happened...

• More than 1,200 homes have been evacuated within 400m (1,300ft) of a World War Two bomb found in Plymouth on Wednesday
• Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Navy and Army plan to detonate the bomb where it is on Friday
• Sand will be placed in containers around the bomb to try to protect nearby buildings from the detonation
• Devon and Cornwall Police said there were no plans to extend the cordon further but the council said it could not guarantee plans would not change
• Southway Youth and Community Centre has opened its doors as an evacuation hub - more than 50 residents helped and 25 households moved into temporary accommodation.

We'll be back with more coverage on Friday.

Image source, Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Plymouth was among the major British cities targeted by the German air force - the Luftwaffe - during World War Two.

It was targeted because of its importance as a major naval port and much of the pre-war city was destroyed.

Some 1,178 civilians were killed in the Plymouth Blitz, beginning in March 1941 and continuing until 1944 with more than 50 Luftwaffe air raids on the city.

Earlier this year two bombs were discovered on the same day in Devon - one was dredged up in Exmouth Marina and the other was found on a building site in the Millbay area of Plymouth.

Both were found to be safe for transport and were detonated at sea.

Two years ago a 500kg German World War Two bomb was found in a garden in the Keyham area of Plymouth.

More than 10,000 people were evacuated - thought to be the largest peacetime evacuation - while the bomb was removed and destroyed.

Were you one of the residents asked to evacuate or has the discovery affected you in other ways.

We're interested in hearing your experiences - you can get in contact via this webpage.