Magnet fisherman in Chelmsford praised for river finds

(l-r) Craig Paterson and Lewis Bright pulled a bunch of metal junk from the River Can on Saturday

A teenager who pulls metal treasures out of rivers has amassed more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Magnet fisherman Lewis Bright, 19, from Chelmsford in Essex, typically pulls out trolleys and bicycles from the murky depths of his local waterways.

More unusual items have included a pair of tights full of money and a suspected unexploded bomb which forced police to intervene.

"When I got my first find it just got me hooked," Mr Bright told BBC Essex.

Lewis Bright said he was "hooked" after making his first river find

The teen's grandfather gifted him his first magnet kit and he picked up tips by watching other people online using strong neodymium magnets in the water - a hobby known as magnet fishing.

In January, he pulled a suspicious item - thought to be an unexploded bomb - from the River Can in Chelmsford and Essex Police cordoned off part of Central Park.

On Saturday, Mr Bright and fellow magnet fisherman Craig Paterson said they retrieved three bicycles, three shopping trolleys and a milk cart from the city centre.

'Rewarding'

He has received dozens of messages of thanks and support online for his work.

Mr Bright says he typically sells the items to scrap metal dealers or tries to reunite objects with their owners.

"I think it's brilliant," said his mother Sherry-Michelle Bright.

"It's been really good for him to get him out and about meeting new people and he feels it's a rewarding thing to do to clean the rivers."

A Chelmsford City Council spokesperson said the authority carried out river cleans throughout the year, and added: "We'd ask any group generously thinking of giving up their time to help keep our rivers clean, to get in touch with us first so that we can ensure that this can be done safely.

"River safety and a risk assessment are important matters to consider in planning this sort of volunteering work, along with a suitable place for retrieved items to be collected and disposed of."

The Canal & River Trust maintains some waterways across England - such as the Lee and Stort rivers on the Hertfordshire-Essex border - and it says magnet fishing is not allowed in its waters because it can be "extremely dangerous".