Fishermen hook a live one as bomb pulled up from depths

TWO fishermen caught more than they bargained for when they scooped up an unexploded bomb from the Second World War in their nets shortly after leaving port.

The Tern had left Port Seton harbour shortly before 7.30am on Monday for a day's fishing when the four-foot-long device became entangled in the trawler's net, sparking off a five-hour drama.

Coastguards escorted the vessel further out to sea and set up an exclusion zone to keep other vessels away, while a bomb disposal team was called in from the Faslane Navy Base.

The bomb's casing was heavily corroded after being in the water for more than 60-years, and its wiring was exposed, but it was unclear if the weapon was still primed.

Bombing raids were carried out by the Luftwaffe along the coast to Edinburgh during the war, with at least one ditching into the sea at Port Seton after being attacked by Spitfires.

Coastguard Bob Abercrombie said: "It must have given the crewmen a bit of a start when they brought it on board but they did everything correct and by the book.

"Picking up unexploded bombs and mines over the years has been quite a frequent occurrence with most being recovered. An exclusion zone was set up away from the harbour and vessels were warned to stay away until the risk of explosion was lifted. It was just after 12.25pm local time that the team out of Faslane carried out a controlled explosion of the device in the water."

Eyewitness Paul Thomson, 39, a self-employed cleaner from Port Seton who was out with his wife for the day, watched the explosion happen.

He said: "A four-man dinghy went out to the bomb to put the charges on to it. They were quite far out away from the harbour – it wasn't as loud as I thought it would be – but it was dramatic watching it happen. I imagine it was a bit nerve-wracking for the fishermen who found it."

Andrew Murdoch from the Port Seton Fishermen's Association said the device was the first to have been found in over a year.

He said: "There's been a lot of bombs, mines and depth charges that have been caught up in nets since World War Two.

"We saw a lot of enemy action along the Forth and many of the bombs and mines have been found. Some still come to the surface like this one did when the boys caught it in their nets, others have been carried by the current to here. Up till Monday, there hadn't been one found in over a year."

The Tern's crew were back out to sea yesterday afternoon and were expected to return to harbour today, said Mr Murdoch.