A TEAM of bomb disposal experts was called in to explode a 500lb device found about ten miles off the North-East coast.

A fishing boat trawling off the coast near Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, got the mine caught in its nets on Wednesday.

The boat, the Lady Patricia, radioed the Coastguard for advice after coming across the cylindrical charge that was about three feet long and 18 inches across.

The discovery was the latest of many unexploded objects found in the North Sea in recent months.

Royal Navy divers have repeatedly been called out to search for explosives further down the coast, near Saltburn and Redcar, in recent weeks, following the washing up of live wartime munitions on beaches in the area.

North-East coastguards, based in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, say certain weather conditions tend to dredge up a lot of potentially deadly relics from the war.

Watch officer Gillian Hill said: "If there is a rough sea for several days it disturbs the seabed, so when trawling, boats are prone to pick things up in their nets.

"In this particular case, the Lady Patricia picked the mine charge up in her nets while fishing. The Royal Navy bomb disposal unit detonated the live device after setting up a one-mile restricted zone around the boat."