The Coastguard and Naval Bomb Disposal squad were called to Kingsand in South East Cornwall on Friday January 17 after a potential unexploded bomb alert.

Metal objects were discovered in the sand under the clock tower at Girt Beach and posted on a local heritage social media page instigating a visit by the Coastguard and Naval Bomb Disposal Team to the beach.

The objects described on the post as ‘rusting, steel objects, some marked with RAF’ were quickly discovered to be harmless pig-iron ballast and the beach and road reopened.

The find has now logged on the Coastguard database for future reference says councillor for Maker with Rame Parish Council Jon Kidd. He explained: “I did try to reassure them that these lumps of iron were known in the community here for many many years and were not newly-surfaced ordinance.

“However, someone had reported them to the Coastguard centre at Falmouth and once reported, if not already on their database, they have to investigate, which is fair enough, I guess.

“The winter storms and currents often reduce the beach levels here by 2-3 ft so such items, along with all the rubble from the Clock Tower damage back in 2014, are very visible on Girt Beach at the moment.”

According to the councillor, once reported to the Coastguard and the Naval Bomb Disposal team a process has started, and they have to follow through it.

“Better to be safe than sorry,” the councillor added, “and everyone was very efficient and professional.”