World War Two mortars found at Kingley Vale
Sefton Jones was walking his dogs with a friend through the woods in Kingley Vale when he spotted something strange popping out of the ground.
He said: “My mate and I were walking out dogs up at Kingley Vale, on Saturday (February 5). We were just walking the dogs as normal and as we cut through the woodland area, we found a couple of mortars half buried.
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Hide Ad“They looked sort of broken up so we wondered if they’re live or not live and we did a little bit of digging and we ended up pulling out just over 10 mortars all together.
“We found out that where we found the mortars were next to an original mortar position that had been dug out and used my British and Canadian troops for target practice in preparation for D-Day.
“The site was also used by Spitfires for target practice.
“Our first reaction was to call the police really and report it because, obviously if found that, you don’t know if kids or dogs are going to go playing in there.
“The police attended, and they confirmed that they were ordnance. They then stayed with the mortars and there was nothing else my mate or I could do so we left them to it.
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Hide AdIn a statement Sussex Police did confirm that an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was able to attend and remove the devices.
“It’s not everyday you come across that sort of thing. Sefton continued
“Its amazing that after all this time that things are still being found.
“It was a no-brainer to do the right thing and report it to the police.”
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Hide AdSussex Police confirmed an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended and remove the devices.
Anyone who comes across something they think may be an explosive device is advised not to touch, even if it looks old and rusty, and contact the police.