Cold War relic found washed up on beach
THE bomb disposal team was brought in to Ainsdale Beach in Southport to explode a Cold War era rocket that had washed ashore.
The British Army Royal Logistics Corps Bomb Disposal team and Merseyside Police were called to the scene by Southport Coastguard after the unexploded ordnance was spotted at around 9pm on Sunday, April 23.
A Southport Coastguard spokesperson said: “The team were tasked, after just completing another shout, to attend Ainsdale Beach in response to a report of a washed up item resembling ordnance.
“On visual inspection of the object it was deemed necessary to set and maintain a safe zone and contact EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal).
“EOD attended, examined the item visually and by x-ray and identified it as a rocket from somewhere around the late 60s to early 70s.
“They decided to make it go away, and detonated a small amount of explosive next to the device, destroying it.
“Merseyside Police were also asked to attend as blowing things up late at night tends to attract some interest from the public.
“The team was able to stand down just after 1am.
“All Coastguard Rescue Teams are trained in recognition and safe handling of ordnance.
“On our area of coastline we have a long history of various types of ordnance being fired from land, and dropped from planes, for testing or disposal.
“If you find a suspicious item on the beach, under no circumstances touch it. Dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
“Old ordnance can be extremely dangerous, and some even contain anti-tamper devices.”