Flights in and out of Bristol airport were disrupted over the weekend after two suspected WW2 torpedoes were found on a beach north of Weston under the flight path.
A beach walker raised the alarm after spotting the devices in the mud at low tide on Saturday (September 19th) north of Sand Bay.
Coastguards from Clevedon and Weston were called, along with the Royal Navy’s bomb squad, but, with the tide coming in, a decision was taken to return the following day.
A 1.5km exclusion zone was put in place on both the ground and in the air for safety, delaying some flights.
A controlled explosion was carried out on Sunday, when it was confirmed the two anti-submarine torpedoes were ‘test’ devices.
A Weston-super-Mare Coastguard spokesman says: “A member of the public alerted our ops room to what looked like two items of ordnance at St Thomas Head near to Middle Hope Bay. They took pictures and an ordinance survey grid reference.”
“This was forwarded to our ops room, who passed it to the Naval Bomb Disposal site in Plymouth. They immediately confirmed it was ordnance and asked for the Coastguard to meet them at the location.”
“We arrived early while the Navy were en route and got eyes on the objects, right on the low water mark. When the Navy arrived we pointed them in the right direction and they were confirmed to be WW2 anti submarine torpedos. One had corroded to just the tail end but the other was partially buried in the mud. After digging it out they found it to be fully intact.”
“With the tide now on the turn, the decision was made to attach a marker buoy and return at low water Sunday afternoon. With public safety a major concern, 2 cro’s had to return at 2am Sunday morning low water to ensure no one went near the torpedo, once covered again at 6am they returned home.”
“We were joined on Sunday morning by our flank team Clevedon Coastguard and Avon and Somerset Police to make a sweep of the area to ensure no one was inside the exclusion zone. Once we were happy the area was clear and the water had receded enough, we assisted the Navy in the transport of their equipment and sand bags, close to the torpedos location.”
“They wrapped it in PE8 plastic explosive and covered it with the sand bags. All crews then retreated to outside the safety zone before a controlled explosion took place at 16:46.”
“The bang wasn’t as loud as expected due to it being a ‘test’ torpedo and was full of sand or concrete, not something anyone could have known. Once they had confirmed that the destruction was a success, we began the kit clean up process and the Navy headed home to Plymouth.”
“We would like to thank all involved, the farmers who were busy harvesting, Bristol Airport for air traffic disruption and the public for their understanding on what was a lovely day for a walk on the headland.”
Pictured: The torpedoes found on the Bristol Channel beach over the weekend (Photos: Weston Coastguard)Â
