Couples in the UK were shocked to find out that an unexploded missile they kept as a garden ornament was a live bomb. For decades, Sian and Jeffrey Edwards had displayed the shell outside their house in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. They had painted it red and used it to line their windowsills. Mrs Edwards even hit it with her trowel to remove earth after gardening. But when a police officer knocked on their door on Wednesday night to say he’d spotted the object and needed to alert the Ministry of Defence, they were in disbelief. He said the squad would arrive the next day to blow up the 64lb naval projectile.
The Ministry of Defense removed the device from the home of Sian and Jeffrey Edwards, a couple who say they’d never noticed the object until it was detonated this week. The bomb had been there since 1982, and the couple thought it was a “dummy” bomb with no charge. Mr. Edwards recalled that his father found the armament when he moved into the house in the 1960s and said he had always been careful to keep it away from children.
They described it as a “beautiful thing” and said it was like losing an old friend when the bomb disposal team arrived to take it away. They were told that the bomb could still explode if the wind hit it, but they refused to evacuate their home.
In the end, the bomb had a small amount of charge and was taken to a nearby quarry for disposal. The couple says they will miss the garden decoration but are relieved they no longer have to worry about it.