A sea mine found off the coast of Gourock on the Clyde in Scotland has been safely detonated by Royal Navy divers.
The British-made S Mk6 sea mine dating from around the time of the Second World War was discovered by a civilian diver earlier in the week who reported it to the local authorities.
Northern Diving Group were called to the scene where they investigated the six-metre long torpedo-shaped device and decided that, due to its age and uncertainty about the quantity of explosives it still contained, it would need to be destroyed.
Properties within 200 metres of the location, just beyond the Gourock Lido, were evacuated by Police Scotland and Inverclyde Council as the explosive team carefully removed the mine and moved it further out to sea.
By midday the residents were allowed back into their homes while Northern Diving Group then put the mine on the sea bed and destroyed it, leaving a three metre by five metre crater on the sea bed.
Northern Diving Group are one of two Royal Navy Diving Squadron groups who provide explosive ordnance disposal across the UK. Mine clearance divers are the Service’s explosive experts who deploy on minehunter ships to provide mine clearance and also on land operations, most recently, Operation Herrick in Afghanistan.
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Image: Royal Navy