Police have confirmed that the convoy moving through Southend last night was transporting the bomb found in North London earlier this week.

The Ministry of Defence have also confirmed that the bomb has now been destroyed by members of the Royal Navy at the facility in Shoebury.

The device, which weighed 500lbs and was uncovered at a building site in Brondesbury Park, Brent, North London, forced 50 residents to leave their homes and hundreds of pupils to be evacuated from schools.

Officers were called at approximately 11.30am on Thursday, March 2, after a suspected WWII bomb was discovered at a building site.

Specialist officers from the Army attended the scene and worked to make the device safe.

At 7.30pm on Friday, March 3, the device was loaded onto a lorry and, an hour later, the lorry was driven away from the location.

A bomb disposal unit was then seen travelling in convoy with police units through Southend last night.

Eye-witnesses reported seeing the convoy, which was travelling with flashing lights, travelling through the town towards Shoebury.

PC Daryl Jones, of Southend Police, said the team were helping the Metropolitan Police and the Ministry of Defence transport an unexploded bomb to the MOD facilities at Shoebury.

It has now been confirmed that this was in fact the same bomb unearthed in London that was being transported to Shoebury to be disposed of after being defused on site.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: "Essex Police assisted the Metropolitan Police and the Ministry of Defence in escorting an unexploded World War Two bomb found at a site in north London through the county to a secure MoD site for safe disposal on Friday, March 3. It arrived at its destination at around 11.30pm."

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the bomb has now been destroyed by the Navy on their twitter feed.