Police scour Wapping beach
(Picture: Supplied)Police carried out a controlled explosion on a hand grenade discovered on a River Thames beach in central London.
The device, believed to have been buried and underwater since the Second World War, was uncovered during low tide on Wapping Beach in an area often frequented by mudlarkers.
Tower Hamlets Police told businesses to keep customers away from the windows as they detonated the grenade at 10am on Friday with residents reporting a “loud bang”.
Sarah Allen, manager of The Prospect of Whitby pub, told The Standard: “It must have been the mudlarkers who spotted it.
“They are always coming into the pub and showing us their finds, little bits of pottery and things but nothing like a grenade.
“I went to the beach to have a nosy and police said they found an unexploded grenade from the Second World War.
“They asked us to keep everyone back from the windows as they carried out a controlled explosion.
Police just carried out a controlled explosion of a grenade found on Wapping Beach, E1W. All road closures and cordons are now being lifted.
— Tower Hamlets Police (@MPSTowerHam) January 21, 2022
“We heard this pop. We were expecting it to be louder than it was. But it gave us a bit of excitement for a Friday morning.”
Police said they have now removed a cordon and London Fire Brigade attended the scene.
