UPDATE: Bomb disposal team due to examine '˜suspicious canister' on beach

A bomb disposal team are on their way to Worthing beach to examine a 'suspicious canister' which washed ashore yesterday afternoon.
Officers at the sceneOfficers at the scene
Officers at the scene

Emergency services were called to the beach opposite the junction of Grand Avenue and West Parade, shortly after 2.15pm yesterday (Monday, February 12), police said.

The area was cordoned off and military experts from the Explosive Ordnance Department were called to the scene, police said.

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Today, experts from the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal team are due to examine the canister at around 1.30pm, according police.

Officers at the sceneOfficers at the scene
Officers at the scene

Police said: “There were concerns it might be an unexploded depth charge, used in anti-submarine warfare.”

The canister – described as ‘cylindrical and of roughly the dimensions of an oil drum’ – is believed to have washed ashore or been exposed by the tide, a spokesman said.

A spokesman from Worthing Borough Council said: "The Bomb Disposal unit are returning today as their investigations were inconclusive.

"The exclusion zone is in place by the Canadian War Memorial, please respect this until the area is deemed safe by experts."