Suspected bomb blown out of proportion in Guide Post

Sep 26 2009 by Laura Caroe, The Journal

A SUSPECTED bomb was blown out of proportion after a device was found in a field.

Police were called to a farm on the outskirts of Guide Post, near Choppington, Northumberland, after a member of public found the strange-looking machine.

But within two hours a bomb disposal crew from Catterick confirmed that it was not an explosive but a bat monitoring device.

It is thought that the suspected bomb had been found near an electricity line on East Farm, which has a number of public footpaths.

Officers from Northumbria Police told The Journal the device had been placed in a field by an environmental group.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: “At 11am on Wednesday September 23 police received a report of a unidentified device uncovered on farm land in Guide Post, Ashington.

“Following investigations police identified it as a bat monitoring device.”

A spokesman from the National Wildlife Trust said many groups across the country monitored bats as the UK’s bat population has fallen dramatically over the last century with many of the roosting sites destroyed.

He said: “I have heard of this kind of thing happening before. Last time a device had been but under a bridge and a member of public panicked when they saw it.”

Ten of 17 species of bat can be found in Northumberland.

Last time a device had been but under a bridge and a member of public panicked when they saw it