Boat drifts 'dangerously close' to wartime wreck ladened with explosives
A boat was seen drifting 'dangerously close' to an explosive filled shipwreck in the Thames Estuary - sparking action from Southend's coastguard.
Cargo ship SS Richard Montgomery - packed with 1,400 tonnes of explosives - was anchored in Sheerness, Kent, when it grounded and broke up in 1944.
The wreck and its cargo is monitored round the clock by port authorities and protected by a 500-metre exclusion zone.
Yesterday, a ship with three people on board, was seen drifting dangerously close to the shipwreck.
The RNLI team from Sheerness initially attended and guided the ship back to Southend Pier, where it was then picked up by the RNLI Southend Lifeboat and taken back to Chalkwell, where it is usually anchored.