Experts detonate First World War shell dredged from Newark Marina

A controlled explosion was carried out yesterday after an unexploded First World War artillery shell was found, Nottinghamshire Police reports.

James Wilkinson, who works at Newark Marina, was dredging at around 11am yesterday when he uncovered the device in Farndon Road, Newark, and officers were called to the scene.

The rusted bomb is an 18lb highly explosive artillery shell, which was used during the second phase of the First World War. It was found in the water, as a new entrance for the river was being created and is around 6 inches long. 

“I’ve never come across a bomb from the First World War so it was a surprise to discover it. It was in a very poor condition I was very glad to find it as it is important that it was dealt with straight away,” said Wilkinson.

A specialist bomb disposal unit attended, and a controlled explosion was carried out in Sconce and Devon Park, in Boundary Road.

A 100m cordon was put in place and the park was closed to the public while the disposal took place at around 3.30pm.

“The police and the disposal unit were very professional and I am very glad that the bomb has been disposed of accordingly. I know Newark is known to have had a lot of bombs thrown at it during the war but you still don’t expect to find one. I am just glad that it’s now out the way,” added Wilkinson.

Sergeant Simon Brooks, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “It’s very rare that we come across a World War I shell and when it was detonated it did go off with quite a bang.”