A fisherman found a 20ft-long torpedo close to a busy cross-Channel shipping lane on tuesday, according to reports.

Peter Storey spotted the Mark 9 torpedo five miles off Beachy Head, near Eastbourne,
East Sussex.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
(MCA) confirmed that the barnacle-covered torpedo was free from
explosives and it was believed to have come from a wreck.

Officials
at Dover Coastguard were alerted late on Tuesday afternoon amid
concerns about its position just a few miles from the Newhaven to Dieppe
ferry route.

Mr Storey took pictures of the torpedo on his
mobile phone and sent them to the Coastguard, who passed them on to the
Royal Navy. Mr
Storey towed the torpedo closer to shore
before anchoring his boat around half a mile off Sovereign Harbour in
Eastbourne.

Eastbourne RNLI coxswain Mark Sawyer told the Press Association that it was
confirmed as a British Mk 9 device which had a stamp stating it was last
checked and tested in 1955.