Beach gas canister mistaken for bomb

The location of the canister, which was tightly lodged under a rock, was logged to prevent further call outs

A gas canister on a beach sparked an emergency call out when it was mistaken for a bomb.

Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team was called to Harrington Beach, south of Workington on the west coast of Cumbria, on Friday by a member of the public who spotted the metal item tightly wedged under a rock.

After an inspection, and sharing photos with explosive experts, it was determined to be a harmless, and very old, gas canister.

As it could not be moved, the location was logged for future reference to prevent another call out, and the incident was put down as a "false alarm with good intent".

A spokesperson for the coastguard team said: "The informant did exactly the right thing in which they had some doubt of what it was and reported it to be safe.

"We thank them for raising their concerns."

On Thursday, the team was called out to a nearby beach after artillery shells and a mortar were found, and bomb disposal experts later carried out controlled explosions.