The catch of the day proved a bit tricky when fishermen netted an unexploded Second World War mine.

Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Navy were called in when a fishing vessel caught the 3ft device in one of its nets yesterday morning.

Their catch was a rare 400lb German buoyant mine (pictured left).

The floating device would have been used to destroy British ships during the Second World War by exploding underneath their hulls.

The two fishermen secured the mine on the deck of their boat and made their way towards the Isle of Grain.

They were met by a Royal Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit, which had travelled from Portsmouth, Kent Marine Police and a coastguard crew.

A 1,000m cordon was put in place by the coastguard while a controlled explosion took place.

The four-man specialist Naval diving unit lowered the mine on to the seabed and then blew it up underwater.

Lt Dan Herridge, head of the diving team, said: "We don't often find these types of buoyant mines - they are quite unusual. But it was in good condition so this was quite a delicate operation to make sure everything went smoothly."