The cause of a series of loud explosions is still perplexing people.Since breaking the story in last week’s Guardian the newsroom has been inundated with reports of residents hearing the noise.
The Guardian reported a mysterious noise described as a “bang like a firework but a thousand times louder” had been heard on September 20 at about 6pm.
But now we can reveal there has been a spate of bangs in the last month some loud enough to shake windows and set car alarms off.
Neither the council nor the police have been able to shed any light on the cause.
A spokesman for Croydon council’s environmental services said: “We haven’t any idea what could be causing the noises. It could be a series of very loud fireworks, perhaps the new type of air bomb fireworks which cause quite a loud noise.” The MET office has confirmed that the explosions are not due to the weather, while the Civil Aviation Authority has discounted the idea that the noise could be due to an aeroplane’s sonic boom.
Mr Newman, Pixton Way: “My girlfriend and I both heard the big bang on Saturday. We were at home and we both thought that it came from the direction of Friars Wood.”
Karen Pearson, Shirley: “I was being driven up through Selsdon High Street at around 6.20pm when my driver nearly jumped out of his skin due to what appeared to be a flare exploding above the shops.”
Matthew Pilcher, Vincent Road: “There have been a series of these bangs over the last two or three weeks, and I have seen two of them detonate. The cause is something like a marron of the type that used to be used to summon lifeboat crews. It’s a rocket that is fired into the sky and detonates at about 200-300 feet, giving a very small flash but an enormous bang.”
Nigel Post, Davidson Road: “It was very loud. It reminds me of when we lived behind an army training ground and they used to let off large mortars. That’s what it sounded like. We heard a very loud bang and saw a flash and a cloud of black smoke over towards the Gloucester Road area. It was loud enough to rattle the windows and set all the car alarms off.”
Angela Price, Milton Avenue: “It was a massive bang. And it’s happened a couple of times in the last two weeks, sometimes as late as 11pm. It woke the children, and set all the car alarms off in the street.”
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