Pictures show the drama unfold as controlled explosion takes place on Southsea beach

The incident took place near Southsea Esplanade on Sunday, February 8 with the ordnance discovered at around 12pm. The police set up a cordon on Eastney Esplanade between the junction of St George’s Road and St Helen’s Parade while an ordnance disposal team arrived at the scene.

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Beachgoers and onlookers were then asked to move back further as a controlled explosion took place to safely remove the threat from the beach.

A Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson said: “At 12:01pm today (February 8) we were called to a suspected unexploded ordnance on the beach near Southsea Esplanade.

“The Royal Navy EOD team arrived on scene and detonated the item safely.”

Find pictures from the incident below: