A magnet fisherman has described the “gut-wrenching” moment he pulled 52 track explosives out of a canal in Northampton
Track explosives are, according to the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), small explosives that can be placed on the surface of train tracks and, when run over by trains, cause a loud bang and alert the driver to a hazard ahead.
Dave Jordan, a 44-year-old small business owner from Northampton, was magnet fishing on the Grand Union Canal, Northampton, when he retrieved the 52 explosives.
He said the explosives were each “roughly the size of a watch face”, adding that he did not know how they ended up in the canal.
Mr Jordan told the PA news agency that the explosives were “safer out than they are in” the canal.
“It’s exciting, but it’s very gut-wrenching as well”, he said after locating the objects.
While this was not the first time he had found explosives while magnet fishing, Mr Jordan said it was the most he had ever found.
“When we get explosives, when we’re doing what we’re doing, it’s a bit of a ‘oh no, not again’. Because we have to call the police. We have to pack up our magnets. We have to move on,” he said.
A British Army bomb disposal team conducted a “controlled explosion” of the objects, a statement from Northamptonshire Police said.
Police said they were called at 9.50am on Thursday “following reports that a man magnet fishing had pulled up a number of track explosives”.
“Officers from the EOD attended and at about 2.20pm, a controlled explosion was carried out”, the statement added.
Mr Jordan said he began magnet fishing about eight years ago after he watched a documentary about mudlarking. He recently began uploading footage of his finds to his YouTube channel, where his videos have received thousands of views.
