A man who accidentally brought home a potentially live shell from the second world war after uncovering it on a beach has spoken of the 'mad' moment a bomb squad descended on his quiet Tameside street.
Wayne Boyle, 53, recently won a metal detector in a competition and was on just his second trip out with it on Saturday (March 3) when he made the incredible discovery on Ainsdale Beach, near Southport. He said he initally thought the shell looked like 'a lump of coal with gold sticking out of it', and decided to pocket it to investigate further.
Back home in Broadbottom, Wayne tried 'chipping away' at the rusty ammunition on Sunday morning (March 5) before posting it to a forum to see if anybody could help him identify it. Just hours later his whole road was cordoned off as a bomb squad and explosive specialists descended on his house.
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"It was madness," Wayne told the Manchester Evening News. "I put it in my pocket on the beach because I thought it could be something of interest value and I didn't want to damage it.
"I put it on this metal detecting site and straight away everyone is telling me that I need to contact the police immediately. They said it looked like some kind of round, and that it could even still be live. So that's when I started taking it seriously."
Realising what he could have on his hands, Wayne called 101 and police attended quickly to take photos of the object and send them to experts.
"It just went from there really," he said. "Multiple fire engines came, and police and ambulances. They closed off the whole street and asked everyone to stay in the front of their homes.
A bomb squad analysed the object and told Wayne he had found a 20mm Hispano shell dating back to WW2. He was told it is likely it would have been dropped by a Spitfire during the conflict.
Researching the beach later, Wayne realised he had been searching just minutes from the Royal Air Force's Woodvale base - where the shell could have come from.
"The fact that I've had it in my pocket yesterday and then in my car driving home last night and then I was hacking away at it this morning - it's shocking," Wayne told the M.E.N. "I mentioned the Spitfire to the ammunitions expert he said it made sense. He said it's off a chain, and it could have fallen out.
"When I realised what it was this morning and I told my wife it looks like I've found a shell on the beach, I don't think she quite grasped what I was on about!"
A GMFRS spokesperson said: “At around 12:15pm today (Sunday, 5th March), firefighters were called to reports of a potential artillery shell at a property on Temperance Street in Broadbottom, Tameside.
“Two fire engines from Stalybridge and Hyde quickly arrived at the scene. Firefighters worked with Greater Manchester Police to close off the street and residents were advised to stay in their homes with doors and windows shut.
“The EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) assessed the device and deemed it not live. The device was then removed from the scene for safe disposal. Firefighters were at the scene for around two and a half hours.”
Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for more information.
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