Popular Mappleton Beach in Humberside was closed off to the public on Bank Holiday Monday after a collection of Second World War bombs was discovered, one of them still live. A spokesman for the Coastguard said “After determining that most of the ordnance was safe, one device was still live and had to be detonated in location.”
The Ministry of Defence-owned area has become known as Bomb Alley Beach after a landslide in 2012 saw more than a thousand rockets and grenades fall from the cliffs less than a mile away. This was largely due to the area being the old bombing range used by the RAF.
It took workers more than five hours to mark the area as safe again to the public. Speaking of the numerous bombs and shells discovered over the years, local resident Joyce Nicholson said “I did not know anything about this. It’s disgusting they have not sorted this out in nearly 70 years. This place is very popular.” It is believed that more bombs and weapons remain to be discovered, and will only be revealed upon bad weather causing erosion of the cliff faces.