DetectingWales.com

By Anna Edwards

This is the moment two men each casually carried a 2ft-long unexploded bombs after finding them washed ashore.

The pair were pictured with the two potentially deadly rusty 120mm tank shells slung over the shoulders. Stunned onlookers watched as the men strolled past them with the explosives that date back to the Cold War.
 
Shell-shocked! The walkers were photographed taking the tank shells away from a Dorset beauty spot

It is believed the unidentified pair may have seized the bombs to try and later cash in as scrap metal.

Now the MoD is urgently appealing for them to make urgent contact with the authorities so the ordnance can be safely removed before it blows up.

The shells were found washed up at Warbarrow Bay, Dorset.

The area is part of the 7,000-acre Lulworth Military Range used by the Army for tank firing practice.

A shocked woman who took the picture of the pair on her mobile phone, said: 'I thought they were carrying rugs at first but as they walked past I saw they were enormous shells.

'I was with somebody who used to be in the Army and he said that because their ends were intact, they were unexploded.

'I was really scared. As they were walking past, my little girl was alongside them.
 
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the shells would have probably been fired from a Chieftain tank. Despite the copious signs about the military firing range, the pair risked death by taking the shells

Another onlooker added: 'What a couple of twits. If you see anything like this you should always call the police, not cart it on home.'

A member of the public posted on a local internet message board that the men were candidates for the Darwin Awards, a tongue-in-cheek term for people who take themselves out of the gene pool via death.

However, another poster commented: 'What's the problem? One man's scrap is another's treasure.'
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the shells would have probably been fired from a Chieftain tank or a Wombat anti-tank rifle used by the Army in the 70s and 80s.
 
The MoD is appealing for the two men, or anyone who knows their identity, to contact them as a matter of urgency
 
Onlookers branded the reckless pair 'idiotic' and 'twits' for taking such a huge risk and endangering others' lives

He said: 'The MoD takes the safety of the public extremely seriously and all pathways at Lulworth Ranges that are open to the public are cleared of military debris, including shells, before access is permitted.

'A number of signs have been placed on-site warning members of the public of the dangers of venturing from authorised pathways and removing shells.
'Unfortunately there are instances where these warnings are ignored.
'The MoD urges public using the ranges to keep to the designated pathways and be advised that it is extremely dangerous to touch any military material they may find.
'These shells are not something anyone should be picking up.'
The MoD is appealing for the two men, or anyone who knows their identity, to contact them as a matter of urgency.

Umbelievable thats something shunggav wud do

Lol alun I know u wood be giving me a hand to carry the other side

I've heared of collecting sea SHELLS as a hobby, but this is rediculous

What i don't quite understand is why they would be 'deadly' if they had been fired already (unless they have a secondary explosive in them).

They don't look particularly rusty either.

If they were lost in the sea before they were fired then that's quite careless.

Because they haven't exploded, they're not bullets, they have a detonator in the nose cone (either time or pressure). An artillery round is a ground to ground bomb ;)

More to the point what the hell are they doing lying around on a public access beach ! When there are radical elements around that would love some device like this to bring havoc they leave them lying around on a beach  !  Are we sure this isn't a wind up ??

Luckily they don't seem to be metal detectorists but they should get "idiot 1st class" medals.

they would luverly polished up either side of my telly lol :D

and worse thing of all.....is she's got cellulite...... ;D ;D ;D

ha ha ha ha well spotted  ;D ;D

...brings a whole new meaning to the expression "top bombing"

The footpath they were on leads up to the car park at Tyneham. Tyneham was a village taken over by the army during the war and never given back to the inhabitants that were moved out. It is regularly patrolled by army wardens so they were lucky to get away with their haul. The frightening thing is that they would have been driving around with them in the boot of the car. The roads from Tyneham are very steep, narrow and winding. The consequences don't bear thinking about.

Bet that will go down a bomb .!!