Not as bad as they look

THE Guardia Civil were recently called in after suspicious looking objects were recovered from the seabed and shore.

One was found in Santa Pola and another in Altea, but despite causing initial alarm, neither posed danger to the public. 

The Santa Pola find, which looked like an explosive device, appeared during a seabed clean-up operation. A bomb disposal unit identified it as a used marine marker device, used by the US navy to indicate a sea-surface reference point. These are dropped by aircraft and used in anti-submarine warfare.

The Altea artefact found on the beach in July was another false alarm. Again, this was an inert and harmless marine marker.

Guardia Civil advises members of the public encountering anything that resembles an explosive device neither to touch nor move it. 

Instead they should call 062 for the Guardia Civil, or 112 for the Emergency Services, and keep a distance of at least 300 metres in case the device is still active and contains explosives.