Lumley calls for bombs found in sea to remain undetonated
ACTRESS JOANNA Lumley is calling for Second World War bombs found in British waters to remain undetonated for the sake of whales and dolphins.
The film star and activist has teamed up with marine conservation charities to call for a change in how unexploded war munitions found during the construction of wind farms are disposed of.
There are believed to be about 100,000 tonnes of explosives left in Britain’s seas, with some of the wartime relics weighing up to half a tonne. Many of these munitions need to be cleared for safe construction of wind farms.
Ms Lumley said the continued “blow it up” approach is “completely nuts” and called for devices to burned out instead.
She has worked with Marine Connection, the World Cetacean Alliance and Advocating Wild to launch the Stop Sea Blasts campaign.
It comes as the UK is expected to ramp up its wind energy capacity.
Ms Lumley said: “It’s crazy to me that wind farm developers, aided by government regulations that are far too relaxed, are able to just blow up bombs that are left over from the Second World War.
“Of course, we need to be finding new ways of getting our energy, such as offshore wind power - I fully support that.
“It just seems completely nuts to me that we are allowing these giant explosions to cause considerable harm to some of our most precious whale and dolphin species when there is a viable alternative available, and a British- inspired one too.”
In 2011, at the Kyle of Durness in Scotland, 39 long- finned pilot whales entered the bay at high tide and became stranded, with 19 eventually dying.
Marine Connection co- founder Liz Sandeman said: “To date, detonating large ordnance in the marine environment has been a necessary method in attempts to build offshore wind capacity that will enable us to reduce our carbon footprint. But the concern is, detonating 500kg explosives has far more serious consequences that cannot be fully mitigated, including auditory damage to marine mammals.”