Awesome - Dangerous Object in the Sand Only Spotted When Featured in Family Beach Shocking Photos

Family beach days are pretty common, and so are family photos on the beach. Many people have photo albums filled with plenty of pictures of their family building sandcastles, swimming, and even posing for family pictures. It’s a very relatable thing. However, there is a series of family photos that one family in England has that no one else does.

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Like many dads, Gareth Gravell loved taking photos of his family. On one particular trip to the beach, he caught something in their family pictures that could not be ignored. It stood out even more than his family. Not to mention, the object he caught on camera, merely inches away from his family, was deadly.





Beach Family

Like many other families, the Gravell family loved going to the beach. Parents Kelly and Gareth took their children Erin and Ellis to the beach whenever they could, and that was quite frequently! Erin was six and Ellis was four, so they loved to play in the sand and the waves.

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It was easy for them to hit the beach whenever they wanted because they lived there! The Gravell family was from Burry Port in Wales in the United Kingdom.




Time for Family Bonding

In fact, it was very common for the Gravell family to go to the beach every week when the weather permitted. They just loved spending time at the beach. It made for excellent family bonding and they loved to take advantage of that every chance they could.

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While there, the Gravell liked to do all kinds of different outdoor beach activities. Their favorite beach activities to do together included swimming, enjoying the waves, and taking long walks on the shore.




Then and Now


While Burry Port was a great place for families like the Gravells to go to enjoy some time together, it wasn’t always so beautiful and family-friendly. It used to be an industrial port and was a hub for all kinds of ships that were both coming and going.

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Despite its history, the beach at Burry Port was now a wonderful location for families to enjoy a day together in nature. It was a laid back and relaxing environment for families of all kinds to take advantage of.




Another Beach Trip

One day, the Gravell family headed to the beach at Burry Port just like they had done a million times before. They found a spot on the beach where they were in the shadow of the lighthouse and then headed for the water where Gareth, Erin, and Ellis decided to go boogie boarding.
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The thing that made this beach day different than all the others that came before it was what they found in the sand during one of their walks on the shore.




Capturing Family Memories

That day, the sky was blue and the water was warm. It was the perfect beach day with the perfect beach weather for the Gravell family.


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It was nice and peaceful and while there, Gareth took plenty of pictures of the children including this one which was taken right before they went on the walk where they found their unique discovery. Gareth posted it on Facebook with the caption, “No place like home! Kids love Burry Port on a nice day!”




Walks on the Shore

When it came time for their usual stroll down the shore, everyone took off at a leisurely pace and the kids began to scour the sand for treasure.

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On their walks, the kids liked to look in the sand for neat finds to take home that came from the deep blue sea. Most of the time, they would only find pretty seashells or sand dollars. Sometimes, they would even find small items that washed up from the sea. But today, they found something different.




Something New

It all started when the Gravell family spotted something weird far down the shore. What they saw was far down the shore and they couldn’t see much, but they could tell it was circular and very large, especially compared to the seashells they were used to finding.


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When they got closer to the odd object, they realized it was even bigger than they thought. While it wasn’t uncommon for them to find something washed up in the sand, this was the largest thing that they had come across.




It Washed up from the Sea

Sticking out of the sand, it was the size of a small child, but wider. In fact, Ellis was only a few inches taller than this weird beach treasure when he was standing up straight.

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This discovery was very odd looking and it seemed out of place on their favorite beach at Burry Port, especially with a chain hanging off of it. Kelly then made the joke that it must be a big bomb that washed up from the sea.




Must Be a Buoy

But with its round, circular shape, Gareth and Kelly figured that it must be a buoy. They didn’t know what else it could be. Kelly didn’t know it at the time, but her joke was more accurate than their buoy assumption.

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It was hard for the Gravell family to tell exactly what the mystery object was because it was almost completely covered in barnacles. The whole family was interested in the barnacles and Kelly and Gareth used this as an opportunity to teach their kids about the living creatures.




So Many Differences

The Gravell kids were fascinated by the barnacles, especially Ellis. But, when Gareth and Kelly started to look closer at the mystery object, they noticed that it was much different than a buoy for several different reasons.

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There were several odd things about it. First of all, Kelly and Gareth found it weird that this odd object sticking out of the sand like a sore thumb was covered in barnacles. It was especially weird that it was covered in so many of them.
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It’s Harmless Enough

The second way this weird anomaly differed from a buoy was the writing on the side. Even though they could tell there was writing on its side, there were so many barnacles so densely packed that they couldn’t read what it said. They had also noted that there was a chain attached to it.

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Despite not knowing what this large mystery object was, the Gravell family assumed it was harmless and let their kids inspect it and its barnacles very closely.




Photo Op

Since they figured it was a harmless beach find, Gareth began taking pictures as his children and wife studied the odd object. They were all intrigued and over the moon to find something that was so out of the norm from their usual beach finds.

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Gareth even caught the very moment that Ellis reached out and touched the mystery item. He wanted to see what the object felt like, and even gently knocked on its surface a couple of times.




Moving On

Ellis touched the large, round object very carefully so that he wouldn’t cut his hands on the barnacles that were all over it. However, it wasn’t the barnacles that he should have been worried about.

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The Gravell family then continued on their walk but they certainly didn’t find anything as interesting as the mystery object. And it wasn’t long before the mysterious nature of their beach find was revealed, as well as the fact that all of the Gravells had unknowingly been in serious danger.





Sharing it with the World

When Gareth uploaded the pictures of his family’s beach day to Facebook, his online friends and followers were just as intrigued by the mysterious beach treasure. They took to the comments to discuss what on earth it could be right away.
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Gareth even captioned the photo of Ellis touching the large object saying, “Ellis was fascinated with the ‘sea monster’ wasted up in Burry Port beach!” Little did he know, the mysterious object was more monstrous than he previously thought.




Uncovering the Truth

Five days later, the Gravells were surprised to hear about something dangerous on the exact spot on the beach that they had been just days earlier. As it turns out, they discovered that what they had come across was not a buoy at all.

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After the Gravell family left the mysterious object on the beach that day, the tide had started washing the many barnacles on its surface away. Eventually, some of the writing on the side of the object became visible.




An Identification


Between the pictures that Gareth had posted and the newly revealed text, one man was able to identify the object sticking out of the sand. When he realized that it was much more dangerous than the average buoy, he immediately called the authorities and the beach at Burry Port was closed within hours.

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A post on the Pembrey Country Park’s Facebook page announced the reason behind the closing of the Burry Port beach, shocking all of the regular beachgoers including the Gravell family.




Historic and Dangerous Origins

What the Gravell family had originally thought was a buoy actually turned out to be a military explosive from World War II. More specifically, it was a mine bomb used by the United States military during the second world war.

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The very item that the Gravell family used as a photo op and the very thing that four-year-old Ellis had touched with his bare hands was basically a huge bomb. Ellis had even knocked on the side of the 70-year-old bomb!




Calling in the Coast Guard

The man who identified the explosive device obviously did the right thing. This wasn’t something that just anyone could get rid of. The authorities closed down the Burry Port beach to the public to ensure no one could get close to the object again and called the Coast Guard to verify its origin and get rid of it safely.


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The first thing the Coast Guard did when they got on the scene was deploy a bomb squad to get to work.




Weighing Their Options

The Coast Guard bomb squad got to work assessing the situation and determined what the best way to remove the World War II explosive was.

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Naturally, handling a large, old bomb was very dangerous and it was something that had to be done with extreme sensitivity. Everyone was extremely lucky that the bomb had not been accidentally detonated by any of the regular beachgoers. It could have resulted in serious injury, or even death, and the Coast Guard certainly didn’t want to risk it now.




Detonation on the Beach

The Coast Guard Bomb Squad finally decided that detonating the World War II explosive right there on the beach would be the best way to dispose of the bomb. By detonating it there, the process would be safe and controlled. Even transporting it could have accidentally detonated it.

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Now that the Coast Guard wasn’t going to have to face the uncertainty of transporting a half a century old bomb, they were able to get to work getting rid of it.
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A Curious Crowd

While the Coast Guard inspected and eventually detonated the large old bomb, a crowd had begun to gather at a safe distance from the shore. The crowd had gathered out of curiosity. Finding a historic bomb was an event to witness on its own, especially when that bomb was in a location that many families regularly visited.

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Other families that loved spending time on the shore like the Gravells’ wanted to see the dangerous object they had been around be disposed of.




Very Lucky

When everyone in Burry Port realized why the beach had been closed, they were all relieved. On top of relief, everyone also felt shocked! The Gravells weren’t the only family to have walked past the mysterious object jutting out of the sand. Many other parents and their children had been within arms distance of the very old bomb.

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The Gravell family, in particular, felt very lucky that nothing serious had happened to them or another family while enjoying a relaxing day on the beach.





Thank You, Facebook

The Gravell family didn’t even know that the Burry Port beach had been closed or that the object they had used as a photo op was determined to be a bomb until a friend who had heard the news commented on their Facebook photos. They recognized the object in their photos and wanted to tell the family right away.

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It never crossed Gareth and Kelly’s minds that that mysterious object they just so happened to take pictures could in fact be lethal.




Buoys Are Common

Experts said that it is very common to find buoys washed up on the beach in that area, so it was completely reasonable for the Gravell family to assume that it was harmless. The expert also said that the writing is what gave the old explosive away.
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The authorities never released exactly what the writing on the side of the bomb said, but it was indeed an explosive device. That fact was completely evident when it finally exploded in a controlled manner at the end of the day.




Glad to See it Go


When they found out that what they thought was a buoy, Gareth posted a hilarious tweet that sums up the circumstances: “So the buoy my kids were jumping on all weekend turns out to be a WWII bomb. Oops.”

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All four of the Gravells had joined the growing crowd the day that the bomb was detonated and disposed of. Their personal experience with the World War II bomb made them eager to see it be gone. In fact, everyone in Burry Port was happy to see it go.




So Many Close Calls

No one who had passed the odd object in the sand while taking a walk on the beach had known that they were putting their lives in danger. It made everyone think twice about interacting with items that washed up on the beach.

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While most of the people who had gathered in the crowd to watch the bomb be disposed of felt that their worries were over, there was one person in the crowd who had other things on his mind.




What About the Barnacles?

Ellis, the youngest Gravell family member, had one more concern before he would feel relieved that the old bomb was going away for good. Ellis was worried about the barnacles that were living on the World War II explosive, especially since he had been so careful with them on the day they found the explosive.


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Since he was worried about the barnacles, Ellis asked his parents, “Are the little animals on there going to be okay?” Unfortunately for Ellis, the answer was probably “no.”




Poor Barnacles

The barnacles on the side of the World War II bomb were the least of the Coast Guard Bomb Squad’s concerns. They were more worried about making sure the bomb didn’t hurt any residents or visitors of the Burry Port beach.

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While disposing of the bomb where it was located ensured the safety of both the residents and visitors of the Burry Port beach, it wasn’t ideal for the poor barnacles. It was very likely that not all of the barnacles survived the disposal process.




Opened Again

After the bomb was properly and completely disposed of by the Coast Guard’s bomb squad, the beach at Burry Port was open for the public to enjoy yet again. It wasn’t long before families started to gather along the shore for a fun, relaxing day just as they did before the bomb washed up.

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Among the beachgoers at Burry Port was the Gravell family who was undeterred from spending quality family time at the beach. It was going to take a lot more than a bomb to keep them from their favorite beach.




Back to the Beach

While all four Gravell family members still frequent the Burry Port beach and still have fun swimming and boogie boarding, their walks along the shore have definitely changed slightly.

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After what they thought was a buoy turned out to be a bomb, the Gravell family won’t be so quick to touch the interesting things that wash up on the shore, especially if they don’t know what it is. Safety will be their number one objective going forward so that they can continue to enjoy family time at their favorite place.