A Burnham-On-Sea beach walker got a shock when her puppy dug up what initially appeared to be a wartime hand grenade on the town’s beach.
Beverley Milner Simonds was walking her dog near Burnham’s beach lighthouse on Friday afternoon when her inquisitive dog, Thatcher, made the find.
“I was walking our puppy when I got the shock of my life. She’d been happily chasing her ball when she got distracted in amongst some debris on the high water mark,” said Beverley, who is a local resident who organises Burnham’s Food & Drink Festival.
“Like most coastal areas we have had a lot of rough seas recently and there was quite a mix of flotsam and jetsam.”
“I went over to get the ball and saw what looked like a hand grenade – which Thatcher was trying to dig up!”
She told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I reached down to pull her away and saw the crack in the side and realised to my relief that it was just a toy. For a split second though, I feared for my life.”
The scare was all the more real for Bev because she is a volunteer Burnham Coastguard Rescue Officer and has previously been called out to deal with incidents involving real explosives on local beaches.
Tris Newey, Severn Sector Manager for HM Coastguard, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “A number of real ordnance devices have been uncovered on beaches around the country in recent weeks following the storms, so I’m relieved that this particular item turned out to be harmless.”
“We would always advise beach users who find suspicious objects to be cautious and dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. We never mind getting called out if there are genuine concerns and people’s safety is at risk.”
Pictured: Top, Thatcher investigating the ‘hand grenade’, and above Sarah and Bev Milner Simonds (Tom Campbell Photography)
