A metal detectorist sparked dramatic scenes in West Runton at the weekend - after unearthing a bomb among the rocks on the beach.
The army's bomb disposal team were called in to North Norfolk after part of a mortar, believed to date back to the Second World War, was picked up on Sunday around midday.
A member of the public armed with a metal detector had been combing the beach, made famous by the discovery of one of the most complete skeletons of a mammoth ever found in Europe, when they made the potentially explosive find.
Police sealed off the area until the threat was lifted amid fears for public safety.
And a team from the Royal Logistics Corps, understood to have made a 200-mile round-trip from their base at Colchester, removed the decaying mortar to allow the beach to reopen.
A passing photographer, who captured the drama on camera, said: 'The man was mystified as to why a lump of rock 'pinged' his metal detector. Picking it up he noticed the brass percussion cap, at which point he wisely called the police.
'The was just the tail end, with the explosive projectile long gone, but there could have been a small amount of unstable explosive remaining or a noxious chemical.'
Nevertheless he added: 'We must leave the experts to decide how lethal explosives are.'
West Runton Beach Cafe shared news of the bomb on its Facebook page.
Responding to the shocking discovery, Heather Parkes·said: 'What? A bomb!' And Anita Nowak added: 'Never a dull moment in West Runton!'
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