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Unexploded WWII bomb discovered near Singleton Lake in Ashford

Police cordoned off a road after an unexploded Second World War shell was discovered in Ashford.

Mark Cumpper, 51, and his 13 year-old son Frankie were magnet fishing at a stream near Singleton Lake on Sunday afternoon when they pulled out the metal object.

It was only the third time the pair had been magnet fishing, which is where you place a large magnet attached to a rope into water to attract magnetic objects.

Police have cordoned off Bucksford Lane after the shell was brought back to shore
Police have cordoned off Bucksford Lane after the shell was brought back to shore

Not knowing exactly what it was, Mr Cumpper and his son took photos of the object and posted them on an online forum before hiding it in some nearby bushes.

Yesterday night (June, 6), after receiving comments that it was an unexploded shell, Mr Cumpper and his son went to retrieve the object along with Matt Lacey, a member of Friends of Singleton Lake, who identified it as a Panzerfaust, a type of anti-tank bazooka.

The police were called and set up a cordon in Bucksford Lane whilst they waited for bomb disposal experts.

The unexploded Second World War bomb
The unexploded Second World War bomb

Mr Lacey said: “It is not the first one I have found.

“There was another one like this up at Singleton Manor that my partner and I pulled from a hedge.”

A police spokesperson said: “Kent Police were called at 6.40pm on Tuesday June 6 following a report of an unexploded wartime shell in Singleton Lake, Ashford.

“Officers attended the scene and the area was cordoned off as a precaution.

“An Army bomb disposal team was called and a controlled detonation was carried out on the device.”

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