Magnetic fisherman who found nearly 400 'bombs' in the River Nene in Northampton speaks out about 'nerve-wracking' discovery

Shortly after 4pm on Sunday (April 13), magnet fisherman Dave Jordan and his friends reported to police that they had found a bin bag full of railway detonators while clearing the canal behind the Carlsberg site in Far Cotton.

A road closure was put in place by police to stop pedestrians and traffic until the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit (EOD) arrived. The EOD collected up to 379 rail detonators and safely removed them from the site.

Dave Jordan and his group of friends, who regularly clear out the River Nene using magnetic fishing rods and uploads his findings to Youtube, had organised a birthday event clearing the canal with friends.

Speaking to Chronicle and Echo, Dave said: “It’s my birthday next week and every year I hold a birthday event, so we were down that stretch because I knew there were loads of trollies to get out. We did litter picking and magnet fishing and had some cakes.

“A member of the group came down with this big bag full of railway detonators that they’d got out all in one go, in one bag, while fishing up by the disused train bridge.

"I can only imagine a bag full was dumped when it wasn’t being used anymore. They must have been in there since the 1960s or something like that, but that’s a wild guess.”

“You just don’t know what’s in the river," he added.

Railway detonators are small explosive devices used on railways to warn train drivers of hazards or obstructions. Placed on the rails, they explode when a train wheel passes over, producing a loud bang to alert the driver. They’ve been used for over 180 years to protect lines during accidents and incidents.

Dave continued: “You can lose your thumb if one goes off in your hand. It’s not a massive bomb, but the thing is, it’s the volume of them. It’s like a small bomb sitting there, volatile.”

Asked how he was feeling when the discovery was made, Dave said: “It’s pretty nerve-wracking when it happens. It’s not the first time we found some. I’ve been doing this 11 years and we’ve cleaned up many spots around Northampton and found lots of weird stuff.

"It’s more a case now of, ‘oh no, so who’s going to be here until the police arrive’. They turned up really quick, within five minutes, and closed the road off.”

Dave and the group initially estimated around 100 detonators in the bag, but police revealed today (Monday) there were 379.

Reacting, Dave said: “That’s a lot. A lot. We thought it was over 100 – to hear it’s 379, that’s pretty wild. It’s blown my mind, to be honest. That amount, if it was a perfect storm and they all went off in one go, you’d feel the explosion around the street.”

Asked if he considers the find a memorable birthday present, Dave said: “As long as it doesn’t happen all the time because I don’t want to be public enemy number one. It is all about clearing up the environment rather than finding bombs, but, saying that, it makes for a good YouTube video. That’s not why we do it, but yeah, it is exciting – though it’s a pain because I don’t want to ruin anyone’s Sunday night.”

Dave says the video will be uploaded to his YouTube channel, Adventures with Sonik and Friends, in the next couple of weeks.