Bomb Disposal Team Detonates Missile That Couple Kept as Garden Ornament for 40 Years
A couple in the United Kingdom were shocked last week when a bomb disposal team detonated what they, for over 40 years, believed to be a fake missile used as a garden ornament.
Sian and Jeffrey Edwards had kept the shell outside their home in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire since they moved in in 1982. The armament had actually been found by the previous owner of the home a century ago. Jeffrey Edwards explained to the BBC that warships for the Royal Navy used to dock in St Brides Bay and use the beach there for target practice, making sure no one was actually in the area.
Jeffrey Edwards, 77, believed the armament was a “dummy” used during navy training exercises before World War I. The previous owner found it and left it outside the house, and when the Edwards moved in, they painted it red to match their window ledges.
Officials who looked closely after it was detonated confirmed that it appeared to date back to between 1880 and 1890 and had come from a British warship.
Last Wednesday, police knocked on the Edwards’ door and told the couple their garden ornament would have to be investigated. Not long after, it was confirmed that a bomb squad had been called. Despite the potential danger, the couple refused to evacuate their home of 41 years, but were relieved to find out that the missile was safe to transport away from the residential area.
The missile was then taken to a quarry where it was covered with five tons of sand and detonated on Thursday.
Jeffrey Edwards expressed his sadness at parting ways with the long-standing fixture in their garden: “It was an old friend. I’m so sorry that the poor old thing was blown to pieces,” Edwards told the BBC.