Couple's garden ornament they would 'hit with trowel' turns out to be live bomb

03 December 2023 , 12:17

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The bomb was sunk in concrete and painted red after Mr and Mrs Edwards moved in (Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

A couple have shared their dismay after an old missile which they kept as a garden ornament was detonated by a bomb disposal team - describing it as like losing an “old friend”.

Sian and Jeffrey Edwards had the bomb placed outside their Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire home. The ornament is thought to date back to the late 19th century - but the couple had always thought it was a “dummy” bomb without any charge, not what the Ministry of Defense described as a “naval projectile”.

On Wednesday evening, a police officer knocked on the door to let the couple know he had seen the bomb and would need to warn the Ministry of Defence. Just one hour later, the officer told the couple that a bomb squad would be arriving the next day.

This was an anxious wait for Mr and Mrs Edwards, who were told it was possible the entire street would need to be evacuated. "We didn't sleep a wink all night. It knocked us for six," Mr Edwards said. "I told the bomb disposal unit 'we're not leaving the house, we're staying here. If it goes up, we're going to go up with it'."

Mr and Mrs Edwards felt like they had lost an "old friend" (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

The bomb was found to be live but with just a small amount of charge, so it was taken to a disused quarry in Walwyn’s Castle to be detonated - after it was covered by five tonnes of sand. But it was a sad moment for the Edwards, who felt they had lost an “old friend”.

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Mr Edwards, 77, said: "It was an old friend. I'm so sorry that the poor old thing was blown to pieces." He was taught the history of the bomb by the family of someone who used to own the house - who had found the bomb over 100 years ago.

"Warships for the Royal Navy used to drop anchor in St Brides Bay and point their guns towards Broad Haven and open fire," Mr Edwards claimed. “They used to use the sands for target practice. They'd make sure there was no one on the sands, mind!

The bomb had been left at the property by the last owner (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

The bomb had to be taken away by a bomb disposal team (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

"Well Pop Morris, who went around delivering lemonade, was going down to Broad Haven with his horse and cart and found the shell. He struggled back up the beach with it, put it on the back of his cart and had a very bouncy seven-mile ride back home. He plonked it upright in the front courtyard and that's where it remained,” he told BBC News.

The bomb, which Mrs Edwards used to bang her trowel on to get rid of the earth when gardening, was dunk into concrete and painted red outside the house in order to match the window ledges when the Edwards bought the property in 1982. "It stood there during two world wars," said Mr Edwards.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm that on 30 Nov 23, Ashchurch Troop, 721 EOD Sqn, 11 EOD&S Regt RLC, responded at the request of Dyfed-Powys Police to a suspect item of ordnance. The EOD team assessed the item and determined it to be a 64lb naval projectile which was removed from the scene for subsequent explosive demolition."

Alex Croft