‘Suspicious’ WW1 device pulled out of River Cam

Police attended the scene after receiving reports of a ‘suspicious device’ being found

A treasure hunter discovered a First World War explosive hidden in a Cambridge river. Not long ago, treasure hunter Harvinii Richards discovered a World War One medal in the River Cam near Jesus Green.

While out on another treasure hunt on Thursday (August 27), Harvinii was searching the same part of the river where he found the medal, when he came across what he thought was a spray can.

“It was this really big thing. When I took it out and I realised its shape, I realised it was an artillery shell and I panicked,” said Harvinii. He added: “I was careful. I disconnected the shell and put it in a bucket of water, then I called the police.”

Cambridgeshire Police attended the scene at around 4.50pm after receiving reports of a “suspicious device” being found in the River Cam. A police spokesperson said: “Officers attended and the device, believed to be a howitzer shell, was found not to be viable.”

Once an officer confirmed to Harvinii it was a howitzer shell, he said it “blew my mind”. He added: “I’ve found grenades, guns and knives, but I’ve never found anything like an artillery.

“It was around a foot long and very heavy. When the police told me it was a howitzer I did some Googling and found out they were crucial to winning the war. To me, it’s a piece of Cambridge history.”

As it was not viable, Harvinii was allowed to take it home. He is now working on de-rusting the shell and trying to get it back to its original state.

He said: “This is a piece of Cambridge heritage. We all know people fought and died in World War One. It feels like a responsibility to do the honourable thing.”

Harvinii also hopes to eventually get in touch with Cambridge Heritage to see if the shell could be displayed in a museum.