Largest evacuation in Germany since the end of WWII triggered by the discovery of the biggest bomb ever dropped by the RAF - the BLOCKBUSTER - with 54,000 told to leave their homes on Christmas Day

Residents living within a mile radius of the bomb will have to evacuate their homes while the bomb is defused in Augsburg, south Germany. The 1.8-tonne British bomb was discovered on a construction site in the city (pictured). Police said the evacuation would begin at about 8am on Christmas Day, with the area cleared by 10am. Large parts of Augsburg were destroyed on February 25 and 26 1944, when the city was attacked by hundreds of RAF and US bombers (pictured inset is a RAF Lancaster bomber during a raid on Duisburg, west Germany, in 1944.)