UP to 20,000 people have been forced to evacuate a historic European city after three unexploded WWII bombs were discovered.

Large parts of Cologne’s city centre, including hospitals, care homes and a hotel, were all cordoned off as experts defused the explosives.

Police made sure to clear the entire 3,200ft “danger zone” which sat in the potential blast radius.

This left several schools, kindergartens, museums and even the local tram network being shut down for hours on Tuesday.

Three bridges over the famous river Rhine were also out of use.

The bombs were all US-manufactured weapons from over 80 years ago.

Two were 90kg bombs with the third being a smaller 45 kg weapon.

It marked the largest evacuation of residents in the area since WW2.