Exclusive: Prawn fisherman nets 500lb bomb near Great Cumbrae

Jul 27 2008 By Steve Dinneen

NAVY bomb disposal experts have blown up a huge mine found floating off a west coast island.

The 500lb explosive was discovered by a fisherman who caught it in his net near Great Cumbrae and called in the coastguard.

The device - one of the biggest found in Britain in recent years - was the core of a circular, spiked Second World War sea mine.

The remains of the bomb had high-powered explosives packed into a casing the size of an oil barrel, used to destroy war ships and submarines.

Boat captain Ian Whiteman, 44, of Largs, said: "We were trawling for langoustines when we thought we'd netted a stone.

"Wepulled upthe net, removed the seaweed and saw this great big mine casing. You're supposed to keep them wet or they can explode so we carefully lowered it back into the sea.

"I was surprised to catch a mine instead of a prawn."

Navy divers carried out the controlled explosion yesterday and the plume of water that shot into the air from its force could be seen from the mainland.

A Navy spokesman said: "This mine was massive, just about as big as you'll find." A Greenock coastguard spokesman said: "We got the fisherman's call on Friday night and called in the Navy."