Beach ordnance destroyed in controlled explosion

Two pieces of suspected ordnance found on a Kent beach were destroyed in a controlled explosion.

HM Coastguard said the items were reported at Sandwich Bay at about 19:50 BST on Sunday.

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team destroyed the objects at about 11:15 on Monday, supported by Deal Coastguard Rescue Team.

The Coastguard said the suspected ordnance was "safely disposed of in a controlled explosion" following the report.

The items were found near the northern end of Sandwich Bay, close to the boundary of the nature reserve.

Tony Ovenden, who reported the discovery, said the area had been used for military training during World War Two and had a long history of ordnance finds.

He said more than 50 pieces of unexploded ordnance had been uncovered in the same area last autumn after coastal erosion exposed them from the sand.

He said: "It is all part of a natural cycle in the bay where old ordnance returns to the surface at Sandwich Bay in the autumn and winter period."

Ovenden, a member of the Thanet and Sandwich coastal finds group, said metal detecting was banned in the area because of the risk posed by historic military items.

He said he records the location of suspected ordnance using GPS and passes the information to HM Coastguard, adding: "I do not touch anything as that is left for the army EOD technicians to deal with."

Ovenden said the two items appeared to have surfaced recently and were covered in a hard concretion caused by years spent buried in the sand.

He added that some artillery shells discovered in the bay had been detonated where they were found, while others had been removed for disposal.

Kent Police and the MoD have been contacted for comment.

Sandwich Bay is among a number of locations around the Kent coast where military artefacts and suspected ordnance are occasionally discovered.

Members of the public are advised not to touch suspected ordnance and to report any finds to the emergency services.

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