UXO News Roundup, 18/06/2024
On the 4th June 2024, the Isle of Wight Coastguard were called to reports of a suspected mine being found on the beach at Grange Chine, near Newport. A Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team attended the scene and the device was destroyed in a controlled explosion. The exact nature of the device has yet to be confirmed.
Image credits: onthewight.com, courtesy of Twilight Wight Images
A day later, on the 5th June, a Royal Navy EOD team were alerted to the discovery of a second item of unexploded ordnance on the Isle of Wight – a suspected hand grenade found in a pile of scrap metal at Fields Nursery, off Town Lane, Niton. The origins of the suspected ordnance are unclear, and the Royal Navy have issued no further updates.
See: Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Team Responds to Suspected Hand Grenade Discovery in Niton (uknip.co.uk)
On the 6th June, Sussex Police were called to reports of an item of suspected unexploded ordnance being discovered by a farmer digging in fields at Winchelsea Beach, near Rye, East Sussex. An Army EOD team attended the scene and the device was confirmed as a 120mm high explosive squash head practice round. The shell was safely disposed of in situ.
See: Sussex road closed as bomb shell explodes in field | The Argus
On the 9th June, emergency services were called to reports of a suspected grenade being pulled from the Bridgewater Canal in Sale, in Trafford, Greater Manchester. The device – which has been reported as a hand grenade, but looks to be a WWI-era rifle grenade – was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
Image credits: Manchester Evening News
On the 9th June, St. Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue team were alerted to the discovery of a reported ‘unexploded bomb’ on the beach at Trevaunance Cove in Cornwall. A cordon was established on the beach and an EOD team attended the scene. The device – which has been confirmed by the Royal Navy as a submarine phosphorous marker – was at first covered by the tide but later removed.
Image credits: BBC News, courtesy of St. Agnes Coastguard
See: Suspected live shell found at Cornwall beach – BBC News
