by Graham Tutthill

Dover Lifeboat crew spent some time searching the English Channel on Thursday night, September 24, for a suspected bomb.

Dover Coastguard asked the lifeboat for help following a report that there was a mine in the sea off Dover.

The Coastguard were concerned that if it was explosive could have devastating consequences considering the number of cargo vessels using the Channel at the time.

While the lifeboat was heading out to the area where it had been reported, the Coastguard plotted a likely search area for the suspicious black sphere and called out their spotter plane to help in the search.

The sharp eyed crew aboard the lifeboat quickly spotted the object and approached for a closer look. They found it was a type of buoy known as a Wave Rider buoy.

They are used by scientists for tide and wave height measurement. They are equipped with sensitive measuring equipment and aerials to transmit survey data back to laboratories.

To remove the risk of any vessel being damaged by colliding with the buoy, the lifeboat crew recovered it and the steel cable trailing from it and brought it back to Dover to be reunited with its owners.