A family on vacation in Burry Port, Wales, thought nothing of letting their children play with what they thought was a washed-up buoy on the beach covered with barnacles, but it wasn’t until some time later they discovered it was no buoy after all.
As the children posed happily beside the oddity for their mom, they had no idea that they were in grave danger. But when the barnacles began to detach themselves, they revealed a message.
Gareth and Kelly Gravell and their kids, Erin, 6, and Ellis, 4, were at West Beach in Burry Port near Llanelli, West Wales when they discovered a three-foot-wide metal ball. The object turned out to be an unexploded bomb from World War II.
Gareth shared the innocent family day picture that his wife had posted to Facebook. In the photo, Erin and Ellis both flash double thumbs-ups. All three of the kids are posing in their swimwear against a backdrop of blue sky, sparkling water, and golden sand.
And in the accompanying caption, Gareth wrote, “No place like home! Kids love Burry Port on a nice day!”
But it was the next set of photographs that got the authorities’ attention.
Then, the Gravells were contacted by the authorities. Carmarthenshire County Council press and communications officer Allison Thomas-David revealed the true identity of the sphere to ABC.
“It very much looks like a buoy, which we get on the regular, but around it was gooseneck barnacles,” she said. “Of course, as the barnacles started dropping off, that’s when we could see writings exposed.” And the odd “buoy” turned out to be more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined.
Authorities safely detonated the bomb, and Gravell said next time they’ll give it a second thought before messing with something like that.
Watch the video report here: Wonderbot/Youtube
Source: OpposingViews, ABC News, Daily Mail