Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Bomb disposal experts called to Fort William after swimmer finds ‘unexploded ordnance’

The item was lodged in rocks in the river and was removed for further examination.

Police were called to the town's Claggan Road area following the discovery of the underwater item. Image: DC Thomson.
Police were called to the town's Claggan Road area following the discovery of the underwater item. Image: DC Thomson.

Bomb disposal experts have removed an item of ‘unexploded ordnance’ from a river in Fort William.

Police were called to Claggan Road shortly before 4pm on Friday after reports a suspicious item had been discovered in the water.

A cordon was placed around the area as EOD experts made the journey north.

On Saturday afternoon, the Royal Navy team gathered on the banks of the River Nevis to assess the object.

The team entered the water and carefully removed the item, which was taken away for further examination.

‘When you see something like that, you don’t know what to do’

The suspected ordnance was discovered by Liam Stanbridge during a visit to his mother’s house.

The 40-year-old labourer from Glasgow had been enjoying a leisurely swim in the river with his niece when he came across the object.

Speaking to The Press and Journal, he said: “I was in the river at the back of my mums and I found what looked to be a bomb.

“I had bought a wet suit from the charity shop so I was just testing it out, having a swim and messing about in the water – and that’s when I saw it.

“My niece Ellie, she was in the water with me as well, so I didn’t want to tell her and scare her.

“My heart was beating fast. When you see something like that, you don’t know what to do.”

View of Claggan Road in Fort William with the River Nevis on the left and houses up ahead.
The item was found in the River Nevis, close to Claggan Road. Image: Google Maps.

Bomb found wedged between rocks

Liam says he found the capsule-shaped object, which he believes could be an ‘unexploded bomb,’ lodged between two rocks.

He described it as a long cylinder with a silver top and copper wrapped around the tail end.

Intrigued by the unique discovery, Liam admits he ‘rubbed it’ to get a better look at the object before contacting police.

He added: “At first, I didn’t know what it was, so I rubbed it, and it looked like heavy metal.”

In a statement, a Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed the area had been cleared.

They said: “At about 3.50pm on Friday, April 4, we were called to a report of possible unexploded ordnance in the River Nevis, near to Claggan Road in Fort William.

“EOD was contacted and a cordon was put in place.

“The item was removed by EOD on Saturday, April 5, for further examination.”

Conversation