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An explosive catch! Fisherman reels in 500lb BOMB off north-east coast

Crew from the vessel Tincino were trawling for fish off Souter Point in South Shields when the 3ft war explosive got caught in their nets.

This is the moment a trawler crew pulled up its fishing nets thinking it had a 'big catch' and found - a massive BOMB. (SWNS)
This is the moment a trawler crew pulled up its fishing nets thinking it had a 'big catch' and found - a massive BOMB. (SWNS)


Trawlers off the north-east coast pulled up their nets thinking they'd snared a huge catch - only to discover it was a huge bomb.

Crew from the vessel Tincino were trawling off Souter Point in South Shields when the old 500lb war explosive got caught in their nets.

They alerted the Royal Navy Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), who came aboard to help transport it to Whitley Bay, where bomb disposal experts could examine it.

Adrian Don, a member of the Tynemouth RNLI, said that the sea bed is littered with thousands of these devices left over from both the first and second world wars, and that it's not unusual for them to get caught it nets. 

The 3ft-long device got caught up in nets as the boat was fishing around three miles off Souter Point in South Shields. (SWNS)
The 3ft-long device got caught up in nets as the boat was fishing around three miles off Souter Point in South Shields. (SWNS)


He said: ‘The lifeboat went out to escort the boat with the bomb. It had been caught up in the nets and hauled on board. 

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‘The weight of it, the crew must have thought they had a huge catch. 

‘The lifeboat crew went on board to help rig up some rope work to lower it over the side at Whitley Bay.’