1 week Ago By [email protected] (Sam Lennon)
A beachcomber who triggered a bomb squad response after scooping up a potentially explosive aircraft cartridge has warned others not to do so. Marc Ayres was searching for shark teeth when he discovered the Cold War-era ammunition at Beltinge Beach near Herne Bay on Sunday afternoon (April 27). Mr Ayres, of Faversham, explained he was fortunate the round was inert because, were it to have been live, the situation could have ”turned out to be very different”.
“I picked it up out of curiosity,” he told KentOnline. “But it turns out the blue tip could mean an incendiary round which is designed to ignite on impact.” Mr Ayres instantly realised it was military and, not wanting to leave it, called police.
He explains the call-handler asked him to photograph the object and told him to put it down and step away. Officers arrived and cordoned off the beach and a bomb disposal team was called in. The round, which was about 7 to 8in (18 to 20cm), was found to be harmless.
It was a training one from a fighter aeroplane so was inactive. Mr Ayres, who had been scanning the land for fossils, commented: “What I found quite amazing was when they said how much stuff was still around and how often they get called out.” But he warned: “If you or your kids find something like this don't do what I did and pick it up, just leave it alone and call the police.
“This one was inert, but it could just as easily turned out to be very different indeed. “We have an amazing coastline, with amazing finds, but some things don't need to be picked up by non-professionals.” The Cold War was a period of hostility between the United States and the Communist Soviet Union from 1947 until its collapse in 1991.
There was no direct fighting between the two superpowers but they supported opposing sides in proxy wars, such as in Vietnam from the 1950s to the 1970s. Britain siding with America made the country a target during the Cold War, and Kent was a focus of defensive preparations due to its south coastal location. This included establishing anti-aircraft and coastal defenses, building ground observation posts, war rooms and rescue centers.
Specific sites like the Regional Seat of Government, set up within the White Cliffs beneath Dover Castle, and underground bunkers in Gravesend stand as present-day reminders of the era..
