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Magnet fisherman pulls up suspected ordnance

Google River in centre with road and path either side - the water is still and the river bank edged with trees.Google
The piece of suspected unexploded ordnance was pulled from the River Itchen on Sunday

A piece of unexploded ordnance pulled up from a river by a magnet fisherman and led to several road closures has been safely removed.

The device was found in the River Itchen at Woodmill, Southampton, shortly after 14:00 GMT on Sunday.

Road closures were put in place along Manor Farm Road, Bitterne Park, as a precaution after the fisherman took it back to an address there.

Police said a team from Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) took the item away and roads were re-opened by about 16:30.

In 2019 magnet fishers near the same spot found the body of a handcuffed man.

Magnet fishing is where people hunt for metal submerged in canals and rivers.

It involves dangling a powerful magnet attached to a rope into the water to locate metallic finds.

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