A father and son who used magnets to trawl the bottom of a lake for sunken treasures were stunned to haul up a huge cache of guns from the depths.
From the murky depths of the Grey Lake at Kingsweston, in Somerset, Neil Hopkins and son Billy pulled up an astonishing total of 12 guns.
Their haul included a Thompson machine gun, a US Civil War pistol and a musket from the 1800s.
There appeared to be between 20 to 30 parts of firearms all of which are badly rusted including a Thompson machine gun, a US civil war pistol and an 1800s musket.
Father and son magnet fishing team Neil Hopkins and Billy were stunned to haul up 12 guns from the murky depths of the Grey Lake at Kingsweston, in Somerset
Neil and Billy’s haul included a Thompson machine gun, a US civil war pistol, an AK47 and a musket from the 1800s
All the items were in various states of repair and badly rusted beyond use and the items were taken to an armoury to be destroyed
The father and son team used a powerful magnet to scour the bottom of the lake in search of long-forgotten valuable objects
Today, members of the force’s underwater search team are at the pool checking to see if there are further items
Police believe the weapon parts could originate from various weapon factories that operated during the Second World War
In February 2015 a number of similar items were found in the same pool by boys who were magnet fishing.
All the items were in various states of repair and badly rusted beyond use and the items were taken to an armoury to be destroyed.
Police believe the weapon parts could originate from various weapon factories that operated during the Second World War.
An Avon and Somerset Police diver suits up before taking the plunge in the search of more discarded weaponry
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘A force armourer confirmed the badly rusted parts were thought to date back to between 50 to 60 years and therefore not those type of guns’
Avon and Somerset Police’s diving equipment next to the haul of firearm components to the left of the picture
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘A force armourer confirmed the badly rusted parts were thought to date back to between 50 to 60 years and therefore not those type of guns.
‘It is believed that this is the case this time and the weapons are to be examined by the armourer prior to destruction.
‘The latest weapon parts discovered appear to be part of same cache found two years ago.’
Today, members of the force’s underwater search team are at the pool checking to see if there are further items.
The force spokesman added: ‘The latest weapon parts discovered appear to be part of same cache found two years ago’