A SHELL was discovered off the coast of Harwich by a dredger, coastguard teams have said.

Thames Coastguard alerted the Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit after reports from the 6,000 ton dredger, the City of London, they had dredged up an 18ins shell at around 9.25am yesterday.

They were eight miles off the coast of Harwich when they made the discovery.

The coastguard launch MCA Hunter transferred the team to the dredger where they removed the shell for disposal.