Grandad finds unexploded WW1 bomb while on treasure hunt with grandson

22 February 2024 , 18:51

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Joey McGimpsey and his seven-year-old grandson Noah found an unexploded bomb while out with a metal detector (Image: Hannah Williams)

A grandad who got a metal detector as a present ended up finding an unexploded bomb while on a treasure hunt with his young grandson.

Joey McGimpsey, 64, took the metal detector out to a park in Wales with his seven-year-old grandson Noah and initially thought he'd just found an old tin can. But on second look, he realised it looked like a World War I bomb and raised the alarm.

The park in Cwmavon, near Port Talbot, was cordoned off by police for several hours before a specialist team safely exploded the ordnance on a local farm.

Joey said he picked up the hobby around a year ago, but never expected to find anything like a bomb. He said: "I've had the metal detector for 12 months and I've only been out a handful of occasions.

"All I wanted to do when I got the detector was find something old enough to go into a museum with my name on it, so my grandkids and great-grandkids could say: 'That's what grandad found'.

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Joey got the metal detector for his birthday - but didn't expect to find anything like a bomb (Hannah McGimpsey)

Joey and his grandson found the bomb while searching for treasure in a Park in Cwmavon, near Port Talbot (Joey McGimpsey)

"But now I've found a bomb - I can't beat that." He said that he and Noah had previously found a few old coins nearby so hoped they would have more luck.

Joey continued: "My metal detector started to beep and I thought it was a tin can because it read around 80 or 90 on my metal detector. I dug it out and then I thought it was a rock, then I kicked it out. I thought: 'That's a weird looking thing'.

"It was shaped like a large sweet potato. It was around 27cm in diameter and caked in rust. I didn't know what it was but thought I'd better be safe than sorry so informed the police. Some community police officers came along and one of them said: 'Don't touch that, it definitely looks like a bomb'."

Joey said officers cordoned off the park at around 4pm, a few hours after he first arrived. He went home to see his grandson, before popping back to the park to ask police what would happen next. A community officer called Joey to confirm the object was a bomb. She said it had been set off at a local farm in a secure environment.

He said: "She said it was a First World War bomb. That was between 1914 and 1918 so it's been there for more than 100 years. I was buzzing, I couldn't sleep that night and I'm still buzzing now. I'm so excited, it's brilliant and I can't get over it."

Joey said Noah was very impressed by the whole experience. He added: "He was so excited. I usually take all the rubbish home that I dig up, and Noah said: 'What if you brought it home and it blew the house up?'.

"He told his teacher that I found a bomb, and he stood up in front of the class and told the kids, the kids just stared at him with open mouths."

A spokesman for South Wales Police said: "Shortly after 2pm on Sunday, February 18 officers responded to a report of what appeared to be unexploded ordnance found in Parc y Llyn, Cwmavon.

"Specialist bomb disposal experts attended and removed the device to a safe location. It was then dealt with by means of a controlled explosion during daylight hours yesterday."

Lucy Skoulding