AN INQUISITIVE dog got more than it bargained for as it explored a Suffolk farm - by unearthing an unexploded bomb.

Lizzie Parry

AN INQUISITIVE dog got more than it bargained for as it explored a Suffolk farm - by unearthing an unexploded bomb.

Lotty, a Labrador collie cross, made the discovery on land at Botany Farm, between the villages of Westhorpe and Walsham le Willows.

But when the drama unfolded, owner Alistair Bloomfield, who lives nearby, knew exactly who to call.

Friend Lee Gooderham, of Elmswell, is an expert who regularly advises developers and the Government about unexploded ordnance (UXO) and explosive remnants of war (ERW) - so he quickly drove to the scene.

He identified the bomb and moved it to safe location before calling the police and bomb disposal team from the Royal Logistics Corp, based at Colchester.

What he found when he arrived was a 120mm artillery projectile, dating from the late 1960s to 1990s that was probably fired from a tank or field artillery.

The 31-year-old said: “What was quite unusual was what it was doing there. There are no military sites in the area, I suspect somebody picked it up at a military range and possible disposed of it when they realised what it was. They are illegal to have in this country.

“Where it was found is very close to a public footpath, and it is quite a significant size, similar to a large coke bottle.

“I doubt it would have posed a big threat to the public, it was a training round and the bomb disposal team were happy to take it away with them.”

Mr Gooderham, a managing consultant in charge of UXO and ERW at the international company 6 Alpha Associates, regularly carries out risk assessment and advises developers.

Recently he has been called upon to assess and retrieve items from the 2012 Olympic sites in east London.

He added: “This incident was not such a drama, it was in a rural location and we knew exactly what it was. But if a bomb was found near to Felixstowe docks for example, it becomes a completely different incident.