VIDEO: Explosion after beachcomber discovers live grenade

A MAN looking for glass bottles got more than he bargained for when he found an unexploded grenade on an area of coastline east of Lymington.

A Lymington Coastguard rescue team rushed to Pitts Deep, between Tanners Lane and Sowley Lane, after the call-out at around 10am last Friday.

They identified the object as a possible explosive and alerted the Royal Navy’s Portsmouth-based bomb disposal team.

An exclusion zone was set up around the device which had been found half-buried at the high-water mark by the beachcomber.

On arrival, the specialists confirmed it was a hand grenade dating back to the Second World War and classed it as “live and unstable”.

The grenade was then dramatically detonated where it lay in a controlled explosion at around 3.30pm.

Describing the location of the discovery as “a fairly inaccessible” part of the coastline, a Lymington Coastguard spokesperson the grenade was a rare find.

“It was quite unusual as it was not the stereotypical pineapple shape with the external pin, so it’s not so easy to identify as a grenade but fortunately this person did,” the spokesperson said.

“Although this type of ordnance is quite rare in this area, we would warn beach combers to be alert.

“If you do discover anything suspicious, do not touch it and do not hesitate to call the coastguard by dialling 999.”