But that is exactly what happened this week – and the Islander decided to take his prized catch of three
8 cm shells back to his house, much to the alarm of the authorities.
The munitions still contained their volatile nitrocellulose propellant and one of the items had to be destroyed by controlled explosion.
Stuart Elliott, Jersey’s bomb disposal officer, said: ‘The items were brought up by fishing nets between Jersey and Guernsey and brought back to the Island.
‘They were then taken up to a local estate and put in a garden in a bucket of water before one his friends told him that they looked a bit suspicious and he should probably call the police.
‘They were still live and contained their nitrocellulose propellant so there was a danger of explosion.’
Mr Elliott added that someone could have been injured if the contents of the shells had ignited.
‘In the worst-case scenario, if it is contained, the nitrocellulose can react violently and could explode fragmenting the shell or case. You could get burnt or, depending on the shell’s condition, there could be a violent explosive reaction, so there is a danger.’
Mr Elliott has been called out to deal with 13 different items of ordnance so far this year and had to detonate six of them. He said that he was waiting to deal with a number of other explosive items only accessible during particularly low tides. He urged people to report it if they discovered anything suspicious.
‘I came across one incident a few years ago when one man was using a hack saw to try to cut open a mortar in his garage that he had found on the beach.
‘I would urge anyone who does find anything that looks suspicious to call the police or Centenier. It does not matter if it is a false alarm, that is part of my job.’
