Late on Monday afternoon members of the public reported seeing the Bomb Disposal Unit heading north through the county.

A spokesperson for Suffolk police confirmed that the Bomb Disposal Unit had been called to Sizewell where a severely corroded device thought to be around two foot by two and a half foot had been found.

The object which is said to be cylindrical in shape was thought to be an old ordnance device but no further details were available about it last night.

Devices such as antique hand grenades and even unexploded bombs are not strangers to our coastal areas with a number having washed up further down the shore at places like Felixstowe in recent years.

Such items often spend decades sitting on seabeds before being disturbed and brought to the shores.