Magnet Fisher 'Catches' Historic Ordnance in Oxford River

Oxford, England The discovery of a suspected tank round in Castle Mill Stream led to authorities cordoning off a portion of Oxford. Police and bomb disposal experts responded after magnet fishers from Thame Magnet Fishing pulled up the device from the water.

Trevor Penny, one of the fishers said he thought it was tank ammunition, but a police officer responding believed it could be anti-aircraft round.

Penny notified police after posting pictures of the device to a social media site. He then moved the suspected munition to a field opposite the site to avoid any "unnecessary evacuations." He said, "We also asked members of the public to leave the field. Police got there within five minutes and cordoned off the area."

Thames Valley Police said, "We were called around 6:30 pm yesterday to reports of historical ordnance. EOD attended and removed the item at around 8:30pm."

Thame Magnet Fishing is a large online community of "dippers" with almost 1,700 members. Despite the popularity of the sport, magnet fishing is not encouraged by The Canal & River Trust, due to the potential for hazardous materials like this one being brought ashore. The ordnance item was not identified.

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