Second world war missile on beach

BOMB disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on Gorleston beach following the discovery of a live second world war anti aircraft shell. The object was destroyed by the Army's Royal Logistic Corps team, who had travelled from Colchester, at 6.

BOMB disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on Gorleston beach following the discovery of a live second world war anti aircraft shell.

The object was destroyed by the Army's Royal Logistic Corps team, who had travelled from Colchester, at 6.30pm yesterday.

Beach strollers had spotted the small black metallic item on the shore, 300 yards from the Pier Hotel, at 4pm.

Chloe Sharman, 14, watched the bomb team go to work and described how three members of the Royal Logistic Corps prepared and placed the charge over a suspicious object and then covered it with sandbags.

Chloe told how the men then retreated a few hundred yards back up the beach and took cover behind a police 4x4 vehicle where they detonated the charge, which resulted in a loud bang.

She said: “The two sandbags were propelled into the air!”

One of the three police officers on the scene after the initial callout was Sgt Jon Mitchell, who helped clear the area of walkers and emphasised that although they thought it unlikely to be a bomb, it was better to take precautions.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “The shell was the live section at the end of the bullet, was without its casing, and was about the size of a thumb. Whilst it was live, it's size meant it wouldn't have posed a great threat, but it made sense to blow it up.”