But the Island’s bomb disposal officer, Stuart Elliott, and Occupation expert Tony Pike have been to examine the find – in between the Barge Aground and Sands – and say they do not believe it is from the war.
Mr Pike said they believed it was an old concrete water outflow, possibly from a former holiday camp that once occupied the site of the former Château Plaisir Hotel at the northern end of St Ouen’s Bay. Mr Pike and several other commentators on social media had suggested the structure might have been a base for a German mine known as a ‘nutcracker’. The anti-landing-craft mines had a barb that stuck up, and if it was hit by a boat would move, striking the ordnance and causing an explosion.
There were even fears that the concrete may well be encasing the explosive itself.
Mr Pike said: ‘It goes to show that when you come across stuff like this in Jersey it is always best to be suspicious. There is a lot of ordnance left around the Island and with the big tides we have been having it may have been uncovered. It is always best to err on the side of caution.’
