Possible device 'no longer visible' on beach

Specialist teams say a "possible piece of ordnance" found on a beach is "no longer visible".

The device was discovered by a novice detectorist on Caister beach, in Norfolk, on Saturday, with local coastguards attending the scene at about 15:45 BST.

Caister resident Emma Hastings said: "They shut off the beach completely because the tide came back in and covered it."

A spokesperson for the HM Coastguard said Emergency Ordnance Disposal (EOD) - as well as Norfolk Police - had also been informed of the incident.

Hastings said the area was cordoned off while authorities "had to take a photo and send it off to the bomb squad".

Hastings said the couple who had found the device were new to metal detecting.

"I ended up speaking to the people who were standing next to the bomb and guarding it.

"They were only here on holiday, and he had just got the metal detector as a present – I can't get over that," she said.

Hastings said the item was "quite deep down" in the sand and "looked very old".

"They thought it was a piece of scaffolding at first," she added.

HM Coastguard said its rescue officers attended Caister Beach on Sunday morning "to locate a piece of possible ordnance after it was covered by the incoming tide yesterday".

It said: "The item was no longer visible on the beach."

Hastings said local people had still been using the beach on Sunday, and were speculating whether the EOD team would attend at low tide to deal with the device.

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