Bomb squad recovers V2 rocket remnants from Harwich mud

Bomb disposal teams have recovered a section of a German V2 rocket from World War II buried in the mudflats at Harwich Harbour.

Royal Navy divers dug out the casing to discover the warhead section was missing and so there was no safey risk.

It was placed on a barge for transfer to dry land during the afternoon high tide on Saturday.

A witness remembered a V2 rocket, which was 46ft (14m) long, exploding over the port in 1944.

It is an unusual find as the V2 rockets were usually obliterated due to the speed with which they plunged to earth, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The discovery of the rocket was reported to Essex Police by a sailing club.

A Royal Navy diving team from Portsmouth and Army disposal experts from 33 Engineers Battalion based at Wimbish near Saffron Walden in Essex had been working at the site since Wednesday evening.

Lt Dan Herridge, Officer-in-Command of the Southern Diving Unit 2 which retrieved the section of rocket, said it was a successful end to the operation.

"[It] means people using the waterways and living locally can have confidence that this was not a dangerous piece of ordnance."

Tides and sea conditions had initially prevented them dealing with the rocket and they feared it could have been intact, still containing about a tonne of explosive from 1944.

The 4ft (1.2m) long section of the rocket could now be donated to the nearby sailing club, the MoD said.