WWII bomb found on Murlough beach

WWII bomb found on Murlough beach

29 July 2015

ONE of the district’s most popular beaches had to be closed last week after the discovery of a World War Two mortar bomb.

A child found the rusty object on Murlough beach on Thursday afternoon and carried it to the RNLI lifeguards at their nearby beach station who raised the alarm.

Although unable to identify the object, senior lifeguard Patrick Knight contacted Belfast Coastguard who asked for a 200m perimeter to be established and contacted the army bomb disposal unit.

The 100 people who were in the area had to be asked to move outside the cordoned off section of beach.

South Down Coastguard unit was also tasked to the area before the bomb disposal team arrived and dealt with what they believed was a two inch smoke mortar.

It is likely the mortar was part of a huge consignment dumped in a deep trench in the Irish Sea after the end of World War Two.