[UK] Army called in to dispose of shell found by treasure diver

ThisIsStaffordshire: Army called in to dispose of shell found by treasure diver
BOMB disposal experts were called yesterday after a treasure diver unearthed what was believed to be a live Second World War shell.

Rob Johnstone found the device in the Thames estuary, near Southend on Sunday evening.

The 36-year-old, from Stoke, below, often enjoys weekends on his friend's boat diving for treasure, but says this is his most exciting find yet.

Rob, a hairdresser, said: "We were fishing and the boat got snagged and because me and my friend are both divers we went down to investigate.

"There was a lot of metal around and then we noticed this large object that could easily have been a rock.

"We took it up to the boat and brought it back. It was encrusted in marine life and I spent the morning cleaning it up at home and I discovered a symbol suggesting it was a warhead."

Rob, who owns The Men's Room, in High Street, Wolstanton, called in police yesterday who then contacted bomb disposal experts.

Several neighbouring shops were evacuated and the road was closed for two hours in the afternoon.

Army explosive experts took the shell away at around 4.30pm to detonate safely.

Rob added: "My main concern was that the public was safe. The police said it might have been dangerous."

Rob was with friend Rob Leybourne four miles off the coast at 9.15pm when he made the discovery.

He added: "There's £500 billion worth of treasure in the sea that we know about and there's probably more than double that we don't know about so you never know, you could find treasure. We've done shipwrecks in Wales and the south coast, we just go anywhere there might be something interesting."

Rob Leybourne, from Weston Coyney, has been diving for treasure for about seven years.

The 48-year-old said: "When the boat stopped it could have been anything, it could have been snagging on a reef.

"Sometimes when you bring things to the surface they start fizzing and you know it's time to throw them back into the water to dampen the fuse but this one didn't fizz."

Sergeant Calum Forsyth said it was possible the bomb had been fired round from a ship's gun.

He said: "On appearance we would guess it's from the Second World War, because it's so badly encrusted.

"It's a fired round rather than a mortar, but it has not exploded even if it has been shot. You could argue it is live, but it's unlikely it would go off and we had to put safety first."

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "As a precaution, officers cordoned off the shop and evacuated nearby properties, pending the arrival of Army explosives experts who proceeded to remove it to a safe location."