War-time grenade found on Skye beach

An old grenade has been found on Talisker Bay on Skye. Picture: Mac ind Óg/Flickr

Coastguard officials and police have been standing guard over the unexploded device at Talisker Bay on the west coast of Skye since it was discovered by a member of the public out for a walk on Saturday night.

A specialist team of bomb disposal experts have been notified and are expected to arrive at the scene to deal with the badly-corroded grenade at around midday today.

Bomb disposal experts from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD) at Faslane on the Clyde are expected to make the device safe, but it is unclear whether they will detonate it at the scene.

The grenade was discovered on the shingle beach at Talisker at around 5pm on Saturday by the member of the public who immediately reported his find to the police in Portree.

They notified the Coastguard who set up a cordon on the beach, which is in an area is popular with walkers.

Talisker Bay is not believed to have been used for any form of military exercise and sits next to farmland.

A local home owner said: “It’s got everybody talking.

“It can be quite a busy spot with tourists and there’s been quite a few people down for a look.

“I think it’s because of the bank holiday, and there are quite a few people who have gone out for a walk and come across the cordon.

“The Coastguard and the police are keeping them at a distance, though.

“It’s definitely a case of better safe than sorry.”

The device has been described as a Mark-69 C hand grenade, but officers at the scene say it is unclear whether it is live or not.

It has been covered at the scene with sandbags as a precaution.

A spokeswoman for the Coastguard in Stornoway said today: “We are aware of the situation and we are continuing to monitor what is happening.

“We have been in contact with the EOD and they are expected to be on site at around midday.

“We have been told they are leaving early in the morning in order to deal with the device as soon as possible.”

The Mark- 69 was a hand grenade developed and used during the last war.

It was taken into service due to the need for a weapon with smaller destructive radius than the former Mills bomb.