Honour for divers afterhistoric find

Lisa Campbell and Jill Tynan of Skerrie Scuba Squad were presented with a small gift following their historic discovery last Sunday.

During the club’s usual Sunday dive, Lisa and fellow diver Adam Davidson unearthed a World War II bomb in Portrush Harbour.

Their quick thinking led to bomb disposal experts travelling from Scotland to defuse the object, later identified as a training device.

Lisa tells: “Adam actually spotted it first, he drew my attention to it and on closer inspection, I knew right away what it was.

“It was so strange that it was found on Remembrance Sunday, and what makes it even more special is that my great uncle was also in the RAF during the war, so to me it was even more exciting.”

Adam had been trying to take pictures of sea life, and his underwater technology came in handy, as the pair took photographs of the device from all angles, which proved a great help to the police and army bomb experts.

“We are usually down taking pictures of sea life, but it’s definitely not something we usually find,” joked Lisa, who is a keen diver..

Cordons were put in place around the harbour, and last Monday morning, a controlled explosion took place.

On Friday, the PSNI made a presentation to Lisa and the Club’s Diving Officer, Jill Tynan.

Praising the divers, Inspector Paul McCrakensaid: “The divers did the right thing by contacting us. Our message is very clear, if you find something that you think might be a danger, don’t touch it or move it – call the police immediately.”