Working at the sharp end

[Christoph1945]

We who work the UK beaches oftern worry about finding old ordnance left over from WWII. As of yet, I haven't managed to turn up any nasty things that would go bang if you managed to accidently knock them with your spade.

Detecting the beaches of North East Wales; I often dig up untold manner of sharp nasty iron objects that would inflict a deadly injoury to hand, foot, paw, or hoof. Just to be on the safe side, I bag and remove any sharp scrap.

Just recently, sharps have been homing in on my boots............

A A strong thorn. Was picked up in the sole of my boot whilst working
under some bushes.

B A galvanised nail. Was hiding in cut grass when I stepped on it.

C Don't know what it is. Was sitting in the beach at Kinmel Bay. Partly hidden
amongst the small rocks, point uppermost; the detector
picked it up before I did!

You may say what is the point of all this? Well, I am wondering if it is possible to buy kevlar soled boots. Next time I may run out of luck!

Chris

[Comp]

" C " doesn't look like the kind of thing you would like to find, sitting anywhere!!!!!

Ah, well, they say they come in threes,... so you SHOULD be all clear, for a short while!!!

Cheers, HH, Fred

[Christoph1945]

Thanks Fred,

I can't help wondering what the heck "C" came off?

Chris

[Comp]

You found it on the beach??? Probably fell off some 6 year old kiddies fluffy toy out of the 'Grabber Machines....'
Looks way too nasty/long to be out of a cane/walking stick,.... hope there aint too many more around,.. Cheers, Fred

[Tombs]

i have looked for them in the past and couldn't find any thing much, strauss direct do plastic soled safety boots.
you could try getting some tough plastic like a water butt and cut your own inner soles for your boots? it might not stop it but would slow it down?

[phil]

Hi Chris i have found something like C on one of the wirral beaches i detect on.

[Gwawrer]

Gosh thats horrible, I trod on a rusty nail once and my foot blew up badly infected and the size of the needle in my thigh was horrendous it nearly came out the other side

[Christoph1945]

Thanks folks,

the large spike puzzles me; the blunt end is made of material similar to the insulators on old fashioned telegraph poles. Do you have a pic of the one that you found Phil?

[phil]

Sorry it was a while ago when i found it, although i have found many sharp nasty things, in fact a couple of weeks ago i must of picked up the equivelent of 5 broken bottles just waiting for some barefooted sunbather to stand on.

[Bridex]

Quote: "
You may say what is the point of all this? Well, I am wondering if it is possible to buy kevlar soled boots. Next time I may run out of luck!
Chris "
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Google for 'Airside Boots', great safety boots, made of non-metallic construction, with protective toe caps and penetration resistant soles.

[Christoph1945]

Thanks Bridex, I will look those up asap!

[Christoph1945]

Googled "Airside Boots" and am well pleased. The boots are presently selling at a reduced price of £26.00p a pr.

[richie56]

Hi Chris
I too have removed lots of nasty sharp things i.e rusty metal, broken bottles off Talacre beach. Dread to think what injury they could cause. Have seen bottles which have been smashed after a beach party which should have been removed or would at least been a little safer intact instead of smashed.
The last spiked thing looks something electrical insulated on the end with pot. But not seen anything like it before
All the very best Richie :-)

[Christoph1945]

Hi Richie,

last year, whilst walking through the dunes, I was met by three off the lead dogs as they rushed over the crest of a large dune. Just as the dogs reached me; I managed to stand in their way and stop them from treading on several broken beer bottles that were sitting on the sand.

I had a short chat with the owner of the dogs and she agreed that the beach and dunes at Talacre had a major broken glass problem. At no time did she show any interest in removing the offending glass. I bagged it and removed it; if only for the safety of children and any other dogs that would pass that way.

When we first started visiting The Point of Ayr and the Talacre dunes; I was amazed and disgusted by the polution and dead animals that I often stumbled upon whilst beach combing.
Although the local council workers and the Keep Wales Tidy team do their best keep the area clean and tidy they are fighting something of a loseing battle. The problem looks to be never ending. It is so sad that a beautiful place like this section of the Dee Estury is bespoiled by litter and sharps.

I did try to set up an action group to augment the work done by the afore mentioned organisations but never did make any progress. I produced flyers and posters and the lady who runs the Smuggles Cafe put them on display for us. We also got Rhyl Library to display the materials as well.

I'm just going to resize some of the materials and will edit them into this thread