Huge World War Two mine destroyed in The Solent

Royal Navy bomb disposal experts have destroyed a 1,500lb (680kg) German mine discovered on the seabed in The Solent.

The World War Two GD ground mine was found by a crane barge 1.5km off Southsea last Thursday while removing debris from a site being dredged next month in preparation for the arrival of the Navy’s new aircraft carriers.

The bomb disposal team towed the air-dropped device overnight to open waters about 1.5km off Bembridge, Isle of Wight, where they carried out a controlled explosion at 1045am on Friday, 27 November.

A cordon of was in place during the explosion which had ‘only a minimal impact on shipping’.

Petty Officer (Diver) Richard Ellis was in charge of the six-man team of bomb disposal officers from Portsmouth-based Southern Diving Unit 2.

He said: ‘These mines were laid in their thousands during WWII but are rarely encountered these days – it’s only the second one we have dealt with in three years. The other one was in the mouth of the Thames.

‘The mine was in quite good condition, and they were engineered to a very high standard which is probably why it has stayed safe all these years.’

The explosion created a plume about 300 metres high.