Southwold’s new lifeboat was called into service for the first time to transport a navy bomb squad to detonate a shell found off the Suffolk coast tonight.
The 100lb shell was found by a boat pulling up marker buoys at around 1pm today, two-and-a-half miles from Aldeburgh.
A navy bomb disposal squad was dispatched from Portsmouth to deal with the device, and ferried out to it by the lifeboat crew.
The shell was detonated on the sea bed a mile from Southwold at around 7.30pm.
Crew member Keith Meldrum said the shell was likely to have been left from years of naval testing activity off the coast.
“By the time it got to the surface the explosion wasn’t huge, but it killed a couple of cod,” he added.
The Annie Tranmer replaced the Leslie Tranmer, which rescued dozens of stranded swimmers in one of its final calls last Sunday.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here