A couple have spoken of their ‘shock’ after they discovered a bag of explosives in a drain.

The railway track explosives were found in a bag by Billy Heys and Beth Chadwick, who are members of the Britannia Mucky Dippers magnet fishing team.

The team head out each week helping to keep their local canals and waterways clean by fishing out metallic objects such as bikes and shopping trolleys.

On Sunday (February 19) they got the surprise of their life when they found a whole bag of explosives stuck in a drain behind B&M Bargains in Todmorden.

They called the police who told them to cordon the area off.

Beth said: “It is absolutely the most unusual thing we have found.

“It was around 5pm, we were about to head home and Billy said let's have a look in this section.

“The 20 railway track explosives were gathered in a bag. 

“We put a temporary cordon on the canal whilst the police were called who came and took the explosives away.

“We recognised the explosives from what we had seen on YouTube. 

“These could have been very dangerous for barge boats going over them and could have caused an explosion.”

The explosives are triggered by pressure, rather than impact. 

Beth said they are out almost every weekend magnet fishing and metal detecting.

She said: “Our canals are our heritage but the amount of junk people throw in is unbelievable. We have fished out scooters, bikes and trolleys.”

West Yorkshire Police said they received a report of railway detonators being found in water by someone fishing in Todmorden. 

Police said expert advice was sought from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). British Transport Police and Network Rail confirmed the items had been in the water for some time and posed no threat to the public. Their disposal was arranged with Network Rail.