A Penzance woman and her nephew had a lucky escape after they discovered ‘a possible unexploded ordnance’ at Marazion Beach on Sunday.

Bobby Nobbs was visiting a café when she spotted the grey phosphorus flare bobbing up and down in the water at about 3.15pm.

Her nephew plucked it out of the water and as it stated to contact the police or military on the side Bobby alerted the emergency services.

Bobby said she had to keep pushing the device up the beach as the tide was coming in. 

Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team and the police attended the scene and a safety cordon was put in place.

Coastguard at the scene (Bobby Nobbs)

Highly trained Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts “safely” detonated the device on Monday morning at about 8.50am.

Bobby said: “I took my nephew for a hot chocolate at Jordan's cafe down the road from me and I was sat in the car watching the waves and just saw something bobbing up and down by the shore.

“I said to my nephew Dean does that look like something in the water?

"He said yes so, I said ere go have a look. 

“He pulled it out and came back and told me what it said on the side contact the police or military, so I went down stood by it and called the police.

“I had to keep pushing it up the beach because the tide was coming in.

"We were very lucky it didn’t go off.

“After a while the Coastguard turned up and we left them and came home."

The phosphorus flare (Bobby Nobbs)

A police spokesperson said: “Officers received a report of a possible unexploded ordnance which had washed up on Marazion beach, at around 3.15pm on Sunday.

“A cordon was put in place overnight to prevent access. 

“The Coastguard and EOD teams attended this morning to safely detonate the item.”