Dangerous finds while metal detecting

This is a field safety guide, not a way to identify or make a hazardous object safe. If there is an immediate risk, call 999 from a safe place and follow the emergency services' instructions.

Suspected ordnance: do not investigate

An old shell, mortar, grenade, flare, cartridge or metal cylinder may still be dangerous. Corrosion does not prove that it is inert. If a target suggests unexploded ordnance, stop digging and do not touch, uncover further, shake, clean, dismantle or carry it. Move away by the route you used, warn others away without returning to the object and call police from a safe location. Do not drive it to a police station or try to dispose of it yourself.

The Royal Navy's account of bomb-disposal call-outs illustrates why specialist teams, not finders, deal with these objects. UK police guidance also says to leave suspected ordnance untouched and call 999. Give responders the location and what you saw from a distance. Do not post a live location publicly or return to take better photographs.

Possible human remains: stop excavation

Bone can be animal, archaeological or recent. A detectorist should not decide that distinction by digging further. If you uncover possible human remains, leave them in place, stop work nearby and contact police. Protect the location by keeping others back without disturbing the material. A local authority's exhumation guidance advises contacting police and stopping work when human remains are found during excavation. Follow police directions before contacting archaeological specialists or the landowner about next steps.

Sharps, chemicals and industrial waste

Needles, broken glass, pressurised containers, chemical residues and sharp scrap are different hazards from an ordinary rusty nail. Do not reach blindly into spoil or use a finds pouch as a sharps container. HSE guidance notes that discarded needles can expose people to blood-borne infection. If you are injured, seek prompt medical advice and give the clinician an accurate account of the object and site; for an emergency, use 999.

Where a site is contaminated or a container leaks, leave it alone and follow the land manager's or emergency service's instructions. Do not wash material into a drain, burn it or take it home for identification.

A practical stop-work sequence

1. Stop detector use and do not disturb the object further.
2. Move yourself and others away without approaching again to mark it.
3. Call 999 for suspected explosive danger or another immediate emergency; explain the location and what you can describe safely.
4. For possible human remains, stop the excavation and contact police. Follow their directions on preserving the scene.
5. Tell the landowner or site manager once it is safe to do so, and preserve any notes already made. Do not independently resume work nearby.

No fixed distance can be safely prescribed for an unknown item. Let responders set a cordon and decide when the location is clear.

The product above belongs to normal field organisation after a site has been confirmed safe. It has no role in handling a hazardous find. For normal discoveries, return to the responsible detecting code and record-a-find process.