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UK couple's garden ornament turns out to be live bomb

December 4, 2023

A bomb disposal team was called to a UK couple's home after it was discovered they had a 100-year-old navy missile in their garden they believed was an ornament.

Sian and Jeffrey Edwards found the explosive when they first moved into their Pembrokeshire home in Wales, BBC reports.

It was reportedly found by the home's first owner when the Royal Navy used the nearby coastline for target practice.

"Well, Pop Morris, who went around delivering lemonade, was going down to Broad Haven with his horse and cart and found the shell," Jeffrey said.

"He struggled back up the beach with it, put it on the back of his cart and had a very bouncy seven-mile ride back home.

"He plonked it upright in the front courtyard, and that's where it remained."

The Edwards' believed the bomb was just a "dummy" with no charge — which is why they were shocked when police knocked on their door last week.

The officer said he had spotted the bomb and needed to alert the Ministry of Defence. They were also shocked to hear the whole street might need to be evacuated the next day.

"We didn't sleep a wink all night. It knocked us for six," Jeffrey said.

"I told the bomb disposal unit 'we're not leaving the house, we're staying here. If it goes up, we're going to go up with it'."

When the bomb squad arrived the next day, they found the bomb was active but had very little charge.

It was taken to a disused quarry and detonated under five tonnes of sand.

Jeffrey compared losing the bomb to "the passing of an old friend" after the bomb squad left.

"It was an old friend. I'm so sorry that the poor old thing was blown to pieces," he said.

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