Man pulls 19 hand grenades out of river while magnet fishing

‘I couldn’t believe it,’ angler says. ‘I was absolutely buzzing’

Che Williams found weapons in River Tame in West Midlands (Tristan Potter / SWNS)

Bomb disposal experts were called out to a site on the outskirts of Birmingham after an angler pulled 19 grenades out of a river.

Che Williams was using a magnet device in the River Tame near Sutton Coldfield in an effort to find an old fishing lure he had lost when he began hauling up “grenade after grenade”.

The 42-year-old said he realised it “might be best” to contact the police when he later realised two of the World War II grenades still had their pins in place.  

Police officers then evacuated the stretch of the river while a specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal [EOD] unit arrived to examine the devices. The grenades with pins were X-rayed and thankfully found to contain no explosives or detonator.

Mr Williams said he was “disappointed” he will not get to keep his unusual haul, since the wartime artefacts will now be destroyed by the bomb squad.  

Che Williams used £15 magnet to find grenades (Tristan Potter / SWNS)

The father-of-two from Coleshill had previously only found pair of scissors, a 5p coin and a hub cap using the £15 magnet. He said: “When I found the first [grenade], I thought: ‘What on earth is that?’ I believed it was a door knob covered in dirt.

“But then I had a closer look and thought, ‘Bloody hell, that’s a hand grenade’. Then I kept pulling them up one after the other. They kept coming out from the same spot, grenade after grenade. I couldn’t believe it … I was absolutely buzzing.”

The angler said he initially took the devices home in a carrier bag, before asking friends on Facebook what he should do. “A chap replied saying I should call the police or I could end up getting myself blown up, so I thought it might be best to do so," he said.

He added: “The bomb squad x-rayed them and said they were safe. They’ve said they are going to dispose of them and I won’t be getting them back. It’s disappointing really because I was told they are from World War Two and I could get £150 for them.”

The Atherstone and Coleshill police force warned members of the public to be careful while magnet fishing. 

“We are aware there has been an increase in people magnet fishing in and around the area,” local officers wrote on Facebook. “In the main it may be just the odd shopping trolley or rusty bike that is found, however, on occasions, the find might be a little more interesting and dangerous.”

On the grenades, police added: “Thankfully they were all deemed safe and the ones with the pins still in place were x-rayed and found to contain no explosives or detonator. They have been taken away and will be disposed of.”

Additional reporting by SWNS