A World War Two bomb found on a beach in Somerset was detonated by explosives experts.
The bomb was discovered by a man out metal detecting on Brean Beach on Tuesday afternoon (July 21)
Police attended and put a cordon around the bomb and took a picture of it to send to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit for verification.
However due to the fast incoming tide the location of the bomb was quickly covered over.
Burnham Coastguard Rescue Team was also called to the find and took an exact location of where it had been found.
As the tide was coming in fast the location was recorded with a plan to return to see if it was still there.
Initially it was thought the ordnance was a grenade. But further investigations revealed it was the fuse end of an old shrapnel bomb.
Burnham Coastguard Rescue Team returned to the site the following day (July 22) and back to the location where the bomb was found – and it was still there.
A cordon was immediately put around it to ensure public safety.
The team contacted the coastguard operations centre and sent a updated picture to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team.
A spokesman for Burnham Coastguard Rescue Team said: “We were expecting it to be covered over by the sand as it had been covered by two different tide.
“However, as we made our way along the beach one of our team members spotted something glinting in the bright sunlight that the beach and all its visitors were basking in.
“Despite the two tides it had remained firmly in place and the excess sand that was covering it had been washed away.
“We immediately set up a cordon to keep public clear and then we contacted our Coastguard Operations Centre and sent them an updated picture which they passed to the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team.”
The coastguard team stayed on site to ensure no one approached the area.
After around six hours of holding the cordon, the EOD team arrived on Brean Beach and a decision taken to detonate the ordnance in situ.
The spokesman added: “The decision was to detonate it in situ and they quickly set about placing a small charge around the ordnance before calling “stand by, firing” followed quickly by a bang and a plume of sand.
“In the blink of an eye the ordnance had been dealt with and we could all relax a little and think about heading home.
“If anyone finds anything on the beach either when using a metal detector or simply washed up they should use extreme caution.
“Move away from the area and discourage others from approaching it and report it to the beach warden or lifeguard if available."
Anyone who spots someone in trouble, or sees something suspicious, while out on the coast should call 999 and call the coastguard.
