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'Mustard gas' mortar removed from Covehithe beach

Suffolk Police Mortar on Covehithe beach, SuffolkSuffolk Police
The "inert mortar" was found by a walker on Covehithe beach

A mortar likely to have contained "mustard gas or high explosive" has been removed from a beach.

The "rusty metal cylinder with fins" was found by a walker on a beach in Covehithe, Suffolk on Saturday.

Police said a Ministry of Defence bomb disposal unit from Colchester was called out.

The force said: "They confirmed that it was a mortar which would have contained mustard gas or high explosive."

In a Facebook post, the force said the mortar was "inert" and "removed without incident".

Mustard gas was used as a weapon during World War One and outlawed by the Geneva Protocol of 1925.

Suffolk Police Mortar on Covehithe beach, SuffolkSuffolk Police
A bomb disposal unit confirmed it was a mortar which would have contained mustard gas or high explosive
Suffolk Police Mortar on Covehithe beach, SuffolkSuffolk Police
A Ministry of Defence bomb disposal unit from Colchester was called to the scene