Second World War anti-tank defences have been revealed on a British beach for the first time in a decade after heavy rain and high tides uncovered the rusted steel barricades.
The coastal defences are believed to have been built in 1940 after the Dunkirk evacuation to protect against potential invasion.
The steel barriers have been exposed for the first time on Blyth beach following heavy rainfall and high tides.
A giant sinkhole opened up on the same beach last week.
Colin Durward, director and chairman of Blyth Battery said: 'After Dunkirk there was a very real threat of invasion and that's why the Home Guard was brought in to defend.
'The beach now looks like a scene out of a WW2 film like Saving Private Ryan.
'I guess for some people you could even describe it as looking like scaffolding, metal pipes and bits that it's made out of.
'These defences are another example of how we as a country are not prepared to give up lightly.
'It's exciting for people to see history coming to life. The reminders of it - whether it's ammunition getting washed ashore or these defences being unveiled.
'There is a lot of stuff out there with stories to tell.'
In recent weeks, rain fall across Northumberland has reached higher totals of 35/40mm in some locations.
It is understood that this, along with high tides, resulted in the barricades being exposed.
Mr Durward added: 'They haven't been unearthed for at least ten years.
'There were minefields and obstacles because it was the first beach where an invasion could take place north of the Tyne, so the beaches up to Berwick-upon-Tweed were all set up with defences.
'New parts of the defences have been exposed that I had not seen and when you see something new it is just terrific.
'There's no known photographs of what the beach looked like during the wartime so when these bits are unearthed it's another piece that features into your imagination of how it really was.
'They are a testimony of what people went through in the war.'
Why have the objects reappeared after a decade?
Approximately four feet of sand was stripped away from Blyth beach following some especially high tides and heavy rains.
It is highly likely that the sand was shifted along the coast in a process known as longshore drift.
Ordinarily, the wind blows the waves on the beach at an angle that pushes the sand and sediment up the beach. When the water returns to the sea it goes perpendicular to the beach.
This causes a zig-zag motion pushing sand along the coastline.
In areas affected by longshore drift, wooden groynes are installed to keep the sand on the beach.
But in times with heavy rain or high tides, the protective groynes can be overwhelmed - especially when the waves approach from a different direction.
It is likely that the missing sand will be replaced naturally over the coming months.
(Source: Darren Boyle, Daily Mail- 19/10/2019)
