Controlled explosion after Knaresborough litter picker takes home unexploded bomb
A video showing the explosion was posted on social media
A controlled explosion was carried out after a litter picker inadvertently took home an unexploded bomb.
Knaresborough man Simon Briscombe found the First World War munition in the River Nidd on Monday, 16 May, but transported it home without realising.
Mr Briscombe, said:
"We like to keep the stretch of the river by the cafe tidy so we do a litter pick every week. I saw this lump of scrap metal and pulled it out thinking it was a gas canister. I took it home and started to hose it all down and I thought 'Oh, this isn't a gas canister, what is it?'
"I searched online to see if I could find any similar images and then when I realised I thought 'Oh crikey, it's a canon shell' so I rang the police straight away.
"They asked me why I'd taken it home and I just told them I thought it was scrap iron.
"It was quite a scary moment to think I'd thrown it in the back of my car and taken it home. If I'd have known what it was I'd have just left it."
In a post on Facebook, Mr Briscombe's partner, Rachel Mills, who runs the Watermill cafe in the North Yorkshire town, said: "As some of you know, we do a litter pick every Monday from the cafe to the bridge and today we found an unexploded shell from WW1 and I just want to put the story right that yes it was explosive.
"I’m just glad that kids didn’t find it, and as soon as we washed the thick mud off and realised what it could be, we immediately rang the police."
North Yorkshire Police carried out an evacuation of nearby properties and a 100m cordon was put in place while the bomb disposal unit was called.
In a statement the force said: "Thankfully, the EOD were able to dispose of the object, and the incident was brought to a safe conclusion.
"Thank you to residents in the local area for their patience whilst we dealt with the incident."
Ms Mills added: "We thank our fantastic emergency services for dealing with the matter and making it safe."
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