The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Beach closed for five hours due to bomb
Scare: Device blown up by experts
A section of Aberdeen beach was cordoned off for more than five hours while a controlled explosion was carried out to deal with a bomb found in the sand yesterday.
A member of the public found the object on a stretch of beach close to Accommodation Road and called the police around 10.20am.
Police were soon at the scene and cordoned off 200 metres of the beach.
After assessing the risk posed by the device, police decided to call in a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD) unit to carry out a controlled explosion.
The area of beach remained closed throughout mostof theafternoon while police waited for the EOD unit to arrive from the Royal Nav y base at Faslane.
The unit arrived shortly after 3pmand, followingan inspection, carried out a controlled explosion at 3.45pm. Police subsequently reopened the beach just before 4pmafter it had been shut for around five-and-a-half hours.
Inspector Mark Stephen was keen to downplay the bomb discovery and confirmed it posed no public risk. He said: “Following a review, it was established the device potentially had no explosive capability.
“However, a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution. I would stress that there was no threat to the public at any stage. Thank-you to the public and motorists for their patience while this incident was dealt with.”
One walker on the beach was surprised by the unexpected discovery.
He explained: “I walked along that section of the beach just before it was shut off by police and I didn’t see anything suspicious.”
This is far from the first time that a bomb has been discovered on Aberdeen beach.
Since 2011, there have been more than 50 explosive devices washed up at the site, the most recent of which was last September.
The beach was closed for almost four- and- a- half hours while the British Army’s Edinburgh Explosive Ordnance Disposal regiment dealt with the incident.