TWO days running bomb disposal experts have been called to Poole Quay after pieces of ordinance were dredged up out at sea.

Landed at the Cemex aggregates yard, police had to be called two mornings in succession, setting up 100 to 140 metre cordons to protect workers.

Little Channel, running through Poole Quay into Holes Bay was closed to marine traffic to enable a military bomb disposal squad to deal with the incident on Tuesday.

A 100m exclusion zone was put in close to Cemex quay, while the ordinance was safely blown up.

Borough of Poole’s lifting bridges across the Backwater Channel remained down instead of lifting at 11.30am and the channel re-opened to marine traffic shortly after.

On Wednesday police were alerted just before 11.30am to reports of the discovery at Yard Quay in New Quay Road. A 100 metre cordon was put in place and a nearby yacht evacuated.

However this suspicious item spotted on the conveyor belt taking the aggregates ashore turned out to be a lump of metal, which was taken away by the bomb squad and there was no disruption to the channel or the lifting bridges.

"It's a but unusual to have one turning up each day," said Warren Pym, assistant harbour master for Poole Harbour Commissioners.

"It's not unusual around the coast, it happens all the time. But to be the same port, it happens very rarely. The dredgers must have hit on a patch out at sea where there are a number of these things."

Everything from flares to Second World War shells can be found on the seabed. Poole Bay has long been a training ground for Royal Marines and was the third largest embarkation point for the D-Day landings.