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Four WWII mortars made safe at Hordle Cliff beach

The ordnance was discovered at Milford on Sea

Four World War II mortars have been discovered at Hordle Cliff beach at Milford on Sea.

The shells, believed to be spigot mortars, were discovered in the course of work by New Forest District Council to remove WWII anti-tank defences known as ‘Admiralty scaffolding’ buried in the sand just below the waterline since the end of the war.

The coastguard cordoned off the ordnance and surrounding area of the beach. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team from Portsmouth attended the site at 06.30 this morning.

One mortar was detonated safely on the beach and the devices recovered were removed from site to be disposed of.

“Discoveries like this are not unusual on the south coast, although this is the first time we have found ordnance during our works at Hordle Cliff. We have clear procedures in place to protect our workers and the public which were followed. The coastguard has now removed the cordons but we will continue to take sensible precautions during the works. Members of the public using the beach are asked to be vigilant and if they see anything of concern they should call 999 and ask for the coastguard.”

– Steve Cook, NFDC’s coastal and public facilities manager