A 30FT long plastic tube sparked a mystery when it washed up on Greenhill Beach.

Coastguards were called when the cylinder was discovered – but had to enlist the help of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council when it proved too large to move.

A JCB was arranged to drag it off the beach.

Historian Stuart Morris believes the tube could be part of the equipment used to build flood defences along Preston Beach Road in 1996.

He said: “Huge amounts of shingle and fine gravel were brought across from the Isle of Wight. The ships which transported it all were far too large to come close to shore, so these huge plastic tubes were built and used to pump it onto the beach, which serves as the flood defence.”

He added: “It’s not impossible for it to be from something else or from further afield, although because of the tides, it is unusual for items to be washed up at Greenhill. They would more often be found round at Chesil Cove.

“It does seem too much of a coincidence for something like this to have washed up where plastic tubing was used and them not to be connected.”

Wyke Regis Coastguards were called at 9.40am yesterday.

They posted the incident and photos on their Facebook page.

A spokesman said: “The full team was paged at 9.40am and asked to provide a response to investigate reports of a large cylindrical object washed up at Greenhill Beach.

“On scene they reported that the object, measuring approximately 30ft long, was far too large for them to move, so called for the assistance of the council.”

Councillor Jason Osborne, briefholder for tourism, culture and harbour, said: “We believe the item fell off a ship. We are arranging to have it pulled up the beach by a JCB so it doesn’t float away again and cause a hazard in the sea. It will be disposed of in due course.”

 

 

October 12th, no76.Full team paged at 09:40 and asked to provide IRT response to investigate reports of a large...

Posted by Wyke Coastguard CRT on Monday, 12 October 2015