Ministry criticised over lost missiles

The missiles have never been found

An official inquiry has criticised the Ministry of Defence, after enough explosives to destroy a small ship were lost in the Bristol Channel.

The batch of 20 missiles had been taken to Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, to be disposed of in mudflats, but floated away before detonation on 3 March.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and a private contractor noticed they had gone missing at 0300 GMT but failed to report the loss until 1700 GMT.

By the time ships heading to and from Avonmouth in the Bristol Channel had been alerted, the pallet full of explosives had been missing for at least 15 hours.

The local MP will take the matter further

Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger said: "They sent a diving team of six people to search the Bristol Channel for 20 missiles.

"Anybody could tell them we have a 22-foot tidal range.

"These missiles are not going to be where they think they'll be.

"I am livid that they just will not take this seriously and I am going to pursue the Ministry of Defence until these missiles are located and destroyed as opposed to being left floating around in the Bristol Channel."

'Unacceptable' delay

The 20 missiles - each one powerful enough to blow up a tank - had been taken to St Thomas's Head on the coast near Weston-super-Mare to be destroyed.

They were part of a consignment staked out into the mud at low tide, to be blown up when the waters came in.

However they were not tied down securely enough and, despite a major search, have never been found.

The official inquiry, released on Monday, revealed a series of mistakes made by the MoD and its contractor, Qinetiq.

It said the delay in informing the police and coastguard was "unacceptable".

The licence to dispose of weapons at St Thomas's Head was withdrawn shortly after the incident.