22/01/2024 Regno Unito, (UK), Inghilterra, (England), Norfolk, North Norfolk, Cromer
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law and/or enforcement agency for assistance”.
Hundreds of thousands of unexploded bombs and mines carpet the seabed off the UK’s coast. Many are known about and mapped, but plenty more are not, posing a potential danger to those working at sea. It is Lee Gooderham’s business to find them. The map projected onto a screen at an industrial estate in Norfolk is the result of 12 years’ work. As Mr Gooderham, founder of Hethel-based Ordtek, zooms in on the English Channel and the southern North Sea, thousands of tiny red dots emerge like scattered confetti. “Each of those dots is a reported munition,” he says. “We are talking hundreds of thousands of items.” What the map does not show are all the unknown munitions still lurking on the seabed. “We are finding unexploded ordnance and dealing with it on a daily basis,” Mr Gooderham says.
“There are many that we don’t know about.”
Despite being dropped – or dumped – decades ago, unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to pose a very real danger to those working in our waters. The real problem is when fishing vessels and dredgers encounter unexploded ordnance,” says Mr Gooderham.
“That is when it becomes dangerous.”
In 2020, fishing vessel Galwad-Y-Mor was thrown into the air when a World War Two bomb exploded 25 miles (40km) north of Cromer, Norfolk. Five crew members were injured, including one left blinded in one eye.
If you find anything that appears to be an explosive device, do not touch it, leave it where it is and call the police. We will contact the appropriate agencies to properly dispose of the item.
Dear editors Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, what drives us is raising awerness about this topic. We make use of your pictures and articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We trust in your understanding. We will (and we always do) cite the source and the author. We thank you for your comprehension
