Fisherman lands rocket (From Tivyside Advertiser)

Fisherman lands rocket

9:10am Tuesday 19th February 2013 in News

The Ministry of Defence has praised the actions of Cardigan Bay fishermen after a scallop boat landed a missile fired from the top secret base at Aberporth.

Drama unfolded late on Friday as Arran Walters of St Dogmaels in the 33ft vessel Glas Y Dorlan dredged in a designated area six miles offshore.

After winching up the heavy steel dredge covered with a chain mesh Arran was taken aback at the sight of what appeared to be some sort of missile.

The fisherman put the 12ft long cylindrical steel item in a safe place on board and telephoned the boat owner, his father Len, who is senior helmsman at the Cardigan RNLI station based at Poppit Sands.

Vastly-experienced fisherman Len told his son not to panic and the youngster left the missile alone before landing it on the fishing pontoon at Patch.

To be on the safe side Len alerted the authorities who checked over the cylinder which did not contain any fuel and was declared safe.

It transpired Arran landed a rocket booster which sank out at sea after being fired from the QinetiQ base.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said “The item was quite harmless, but the fishermen were not aware of that and could have sparked a major alert.

“Fortunately common sense prevailed and it was a case of alls well that ends well,” he said.