Grenade event in West Lothian, Union Canal, Linlithgow area, United Kingdom on Sun 15th October 2023

The magnet fishermen captured the moment the unexploded grenade was pulled up from the Union Canal in Linlithgow. A pair of magnet fishermen who pulled an unexploded grenade out of a Scots canal were left stunned after sparking a major incident.

A bomb squad raced to the Union Canal in Linlithgow after Bob Imrie and his pal raised the alarm at around 3.50pm on Sunday. The 23-year-old, from Edinburgh, was filming as they tossed the huge magnet into the water, capturing the moment the grenade was pulled up from the canal live on their TikTok channel. The bomb could be seen perfectly attached to the magnet as the pair examined their find. Bob then panicked when he realised what it was, as he could then be heard shouting "oh mate, put it back in, put it back in".

Speaking to the Record, Bob said: "We had been at the canal since 8.30am but were just getting ready to leave as we hadn't found anything. We just chucked the magnet back in for one go - and that's when we got the grenade.

"The minute I saw it I was panicking - my heart was racing. I was absolutely sh**ing myself to be honest. We took a few minutes to calm ourselves down, then carefully lowered the magnet back into the water and made sure everyone kept off the pathway to keep everyone safe.

" Bob called police who quickly arrived at the scene with a bomb squad. They examined the item and described it as an unexploded 'Mills bomb' - the name given to a series of British hand grenades which were designed by William Mills. The bombs were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army and saw widespread use in the First and Second World Wars.

Everyone was told to move back before officers broke the news to Bob that they would unfortunately have to blow up their £250 magnet because it was too dangerous to detach it from the grenade. The bomb squad then took the device to an open field where it could be safely detonated.

"The police officer said there was good news and bad news", Bob added. "The good news was that we may have saved a life, but the bad news was that they couldn't safely detach the bomb from our magnet, so it had to be blown up with it. We were absolutely gutted." The pair - who have been magnet fishing for three-and-a-half years and try to get out every day - say they usually only find scrap metal. "We have found some good stuff too", continued Bob. "We've found some safes, bombs, knifes and old World War items including a helmet. "This is actually the second bomb that we've pulled up - but the other was nothing compared to this one. That one was shaped like a a mortar bomb but we never got that clarified. "We try to get out every single day. If we're not live streaming we are getting videos for the TikTok. We're now just waiting on our new magnet being delivered then we'll be straight back out."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We received a report that an explosive item had been recovered from the canal. EOD attended and a controlled explosion was carried out." The Ministry of Defence were asked for comment.