A SMOKE grenade found on the shores of the River Severn at Benchley point was disposed of on the afternoon of Sunday 5th February.

The grenade was discovered at 12.25pm below the high water mark while the Chepstow Coastguard was conducting a search exercise.

Richard Hoyle, Deputy Station Officer at Chepstow Coastguard Station said: ”The object was located and details were passed through Milford Haven Coastguard operation

centre.”

A Royal Navy explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) team were tasked to investigate the reported object.

Mr Hoyle said: “Investigations with EOD team concluded the item was an ordinance but it was no longer viable and identified it as a military spec smoke grenade.”

This discovery serves as a reminder to the public of what to do should they come across something that could be explosive ordinance.

Mr Hoyle said: “The message is always if you see something suspicious on the foreshore don’t touch it and don’t pick it up. Just call 999.”

The incident is the first of February for the Chepstow Coastguard and comes after a busy January for the team.

Mr Hoyle said: “We had six incidents in January we responded to ranging from the River Severn to the River Usk in Newport.

“These incidents ranged from assisting vessels in difficulty to assisting police.”