A woman has been left shaken after learning a heavy object she tried to move on Aberdeen beach could have been a Second World War mine.
Sharon Mitchell discovered the circular-shaped appliance after walking near the North Pier.
She had been out for a family walk with her dogs, when her eight-year-old niece first spotted the device.
“My niece motioned me over to look at something”, said Ms Mitchell.
“I thought wow that is quite unusual. I then stupidly tried to move it. It wouldn’t move an inch, it was buried quite deep in the sand.
“We thought it was something off a boat or something, never for a second did I think it was anything dangerous because of where it was with people always around.”
Facebook comments raise bomb concerns
It was not until today, nearly two weeks later, that Ms Mitchell began to discover the mysterious device might be a Second World War mine.
Due to her niece being “really curious” and wanting to know what it was – she decided to share a picture to see if any locals knew.
After uploading a photo of the device to an Aberdeen Facebook group, Ms Mitchell quickly became inundated with comments telling her to phone the police.
A member of the coastguard messaged her on Facebook and told her to phone 999.
Both police and coastguard teams have been out searching for the potential bomb this afternoon but left after failing to find the device.
Ms Mitchell even provided them with a video of the location, but a coastguard spokesman said the tide may have risen to hide the device.
Due to it being on the waterline, it could disappear underneath the sand and water regularly.
The coastguard spokesman said they would attempt to search again when the tide was lower and when they have the resources to do so.
Repeated bombs found on Aberdeen Beach
Ms Mitchell, who works as a kinship carer for a niece and nephew, said the experience left her shaken.
“I was very frightened”, she said.
“If that is a potential mine then it doesn’t bear thinking about it what could have been.
“In the future, I will be a lot more careful about what I touch or let my nieces and nephew touch on the beach.”
The coastguard did tell Ms Mitchell there had been reported mines on that part of the beach before.
In 2015, police guarded a bomb which had been washed up on the beach near the ballroom.
And there were false bomb alarms in both 2016 and 2019.
During the Second World War, Aberdeen Beach was transformed with anti-tank cubes, pill boxes and miles of barbed wire and fences to defend it from the threat of Nazi attack.
The beach was even damaged by a bomb in 1940.
But Ms Mitchell said that due to her niece’s curiosity and “good eyesight” she could have saved someone’s life if it turns out to be a mine.
“That is a once-in-a-lifetime thing”, she said.
A police spokeswoman said: “A joint search was carried out by police and HM Coastguard but nothing was found.
“Should anyone notice anything unusual they are asked to contact police as soon as possible via 101.”
