UXO Found on Hornsea Beach Near Historic Ranges
A safety cordon was put in place around a section of Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire after a piece of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) was found on the beach at the high water mark. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team had been mobilised to destroy the item.
Whilst the type of UXO is unknown, such finds are far from uncommon in the area. The stretch of coastline between Hornsea and Cowden has seen extensive use for bombing and air gunnery practice since WWII. This included both British and American aircraft firing into the cliff face around Mappleton Stands, in addition to dropping thousands of practice bombs.
In July 2012 coastal erosion caused a major landslip at Mappleton, exposing more than 1,000No. items of UXO, including practice bombs, mortars, rockets, shells and grenades (see inset). An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team carried out an initial 15No. controlled explosions to destroy the most volatile devices before removing the remainder in a progressive operation.
