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Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning over 'Doomsday wreck' at the bottom of the Thames: Bomb-filled SS Richard Montgomery is edging close to COLLAPSE – as officials frantically impose a no-fly zone over the site
A bomb-filled 'doomsday wreck' which threatens to unleash a tsunami in the Thames is edging closer to collapse, an ominous new survey of the ship reveals. The SS Richard Montgomery sank in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent, in August 1944, taking 1,400 tons of WW2 explosives to the bottom. Her masts still loom above the water line and there are plans to remove them, lest they collapse on to the wreck and trigger an explosion. But a new survey of the ship has revealed the hull itself is deteriorating, with several alarming changes detected in the year since the last survey. Now a no-fly zone has been imposed at the wreck site by the Department for Transport, banning civilian and non-emergency aviation from the skies overhead. One problem flagged up by the survey is that the front half of the ship – which broke in two as it sank – is slowly tipping over, tilting half a metre further eastward in two years. More decay was observed in the second cargo hold, where the upper port side has cracked, and the lower starboard side has become 'significantly buckled'. This has caused part of the deck above to start collapsing into the hold, with the hatch supports in this area dropping by up to 17cm in a year. All told, it looks like 'the forward part of the wreck is splitting in two,' the new report states. The back end of the wreck is in similar trouble. The survey says: 'Like the forward section, the rear section is hogging and potentially breaking in two about halfway along its length.' Further deterioration was detected where the front and back of the wreck split apart. 'This area was left unsupported when the ship broke in two back in 1944,' the report says. 'Consequently, it has been badly affected by wave and current action and is steadily collapsing and falling into the gap between the two halves of the vessel.' If the seabed is anything to go by, the worst is yet to come. The report warns: 'The degree to which the bow and stern may be being undercut as the supporting sediment is eroded away is a potential concern.' One area of seabed close to the wreck was found to have dipped by 1.6m in a year. The front of the ship has now been 'undercut to the degree where it has started to move', according to the findings. A 1970 report from the Royal Military College of Science predicted what would happen if the whole explosive cache detonated at once. It would unleash a column of water and debris 3,000 metres high, and a five-metre tsunami, engulfing nearby Sheerness, the report said. Also in the firing line is Southend, which lies some five miles north of the wreck site. Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend Council, is looking for answers. He said: 'According to the experts, the wreck of the Montgomery remains stable. 'So I understand that the no-fly zone that's been put in is a precautionary measure. 'But we are seeking further clarity around the long term plans for the wreck. 'What we'd like more than anything is clarity, to understand what the long-term plans are.' The Department for Transport, the ministry responsible for the wreck, said the no-fly zone had been implemented on expert advice and would remain in place until further notice. A spokesperson said: 'Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of the public and to reduce any risk posed by the SS Richard Montgomery. 'The condition of the wreck remains stable, and experts are continuing to monitor the site. 'As part of their ongoing monitoring, they have updated advice on how authorities can further minimise risk. 'They have recommended that pilots and operators do not fly in a limited area around and above the site as specified by the Civil Aviation Authority.' The SS Richard Montgomery, which lies at a depth of 49ft, was an American vessel carrying munitions for the allies in the Second World War. She ran aground on a sandbank and broke her back on it when the tide went out, sinking before all of her cargo could be recovered. What is the SS Montgomery and why is it dangerous? The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty Ship built in 1943 to transport cargo across the Atlantic The 7,200-tonne vessel safely crossed the Atlantic on convoy HX-301 without incident and was ordered to anchor off Sheerness. The vessel was carrying some 7,000 tonnes of munitions and it was due to carry on to Cherbourg to unload its cargo. However, on August 20, 1944, the Montgomery dragged her anchor and ran aground on a sandbank around 250 yards from the Medway Approach Channel. A major salvage operation was launched to unload the vessel's deadly cargo although, within 24 hours cracks began appearing across the hull and the forward areas began flooding. By September 25, the salvage operation had to be abandoned after the entire vessel flooded. The Richard Montgomery was one of 2,700 Liberty ships built during the war.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
UK wildlife numbers are falling despite increase in number of trees
Wildlife numbers in the UK are falling despite a small increase in the number of trees, a new report says. The findings, published by charity the Woodland Trust, show both the quantity and variety of wildlife is going down That's despite a rise in woodland cover, which describes how much of a particular area of land is covered by trees. The conservation charity says the UK needs to improve the condition and scale of its woodlands to tackle wildlife loss. The Woodland Trust says the decline of wildlife is down to the fall in the biodiversity woodlands have seen over time. Biodiversity is all about the variety of plants, animals and other living things found in a specific environment or place. Butterflies, woodland birds, dormice and lots of different plant species have all seen a significant fall in their numbers over the years, according to the report. Ancient and veteran trees, which are really important for wildlife because of their unique characteristics which provide food and places for animals and organisms to live, have also seen a fall in numbers. "UK woodlands lack open spaces, such as glades, which allow light to reach the forest floor and young trees to grow," said Abigail Bunker who is the director of conservation and external affairs at the Woodland Trust. "There are also fewer older trees, which, along with their soils, lock in carbon from the atmosphere. Alarmingly, many British woodlands have very few - if any - ancient and veteran trees left."While woodland cover increased from 13.2% of UK land in 2020 to 13.5% in 2024, the report says just 45% of the government's targets for increased woodland was met over those four also points to recommendations from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to increase the number of trees in the UK as part of government plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to also tackle climate change. What else is in the report? The Woodland Trust's report also highlights the impact woodlands have on wellbeing and communities, with nine in 10 people agreeing woodland biodiversity has a positive impact through things like birdsong or the sound of rustling leaves, according to a poll. "We are calling on the government and others to invest in the management of our woodlands, so that people and wildlife can experience the benefits of these precious ecosystems..." said Ms Bunker. "It's also vital that the government start hitting their tree-planting targets, so that there is time to grow the veteran trees of the future and help shape woodlands to better withstand challenges like new diseases, or rising temperatures."The government's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said, "Trees are really important for helping the planet and for protecting animals and nature."We are spending £400 million to plant more trees and are working hard to take care of our woodlands so they can help all types of wildlife."
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
'Damp forced us to live in bedroom for four years'
A woman has said she and her husband were forced to live upstairs in their home in Leeds for four years after the council failed to solve an issue with Town said the damp, from a flood under her council-owned home, caused appliances to break down, destroyed furniture and led to further health concerns for her husband, who was recovering from a serious Town said: "It destroys you, knowing the council knew the condition we were living in and that we lost everything downstairs, and did nothing to address it."A council spokesperson apologised for not fully resolving the issue, but said multiple repairs had been carried out and the house had remained "habitable". Mrs Town said the repairs to the property in Thorpe on the Hill, where she had lived for 12 years before moving to East Yorkshire at the end of last year, had included replastering the living room five times after it kept becoming damp."We lived in the bedroom for four years. The mental health [impact] from doing that in your late 40s and 50s – it's no good at all," Mrs Town said."I'm not upset, I'm angry. They wouldn't live like that, so why did they expect me to?" Mrs Town said it had become a "running joke" with builders, plasterers and plumbers when they repeatedly visited the property to fix the same issues."The council was sending plasterer after plasterer to rip off the walls and re-do them, without getting to the root cause of the damp and the mould," she explained that the damp had caused the oven and fridge-freezer to break down and work surfaces to come away from the wall in the the carpet had begun to smell and it eventually had to be removed, leaving bare floorboards, she Town said she and her husband had to take their clothes to the laundrette and they had lived on takeaways and air fryer food - even having Christmas dinner in their bedroom."It's enough to take a toll on anybody," she said. Mrs Town said that despite being in the top priority band for council housing and bidding for a new property every week, trying to downsize from their three-bedroom home, they were never able to secure said they had taken things into their own hands in December and had moved to Hornsea in East Yorkshire, which she said was "not ideal" and had been an "upheaval"."I was suffering with chest infection after chest infection, and I just said I couldn't do it anymore. Anchor Homes offered us this one, so I took it," Mrs Town said."We have lovely neighbours, but it is quiet, and I feel out of place at times."Without a car here, you are cut off. Both our families [are in Leeds], and my friends are there." 'Really angry' Mrs Town said the move had also meant the couple had to pay for further travel and accommodation when Mr Town had hospital appointments in Sheffield which he still needed to attend following a bleed on the brain eight years said Leeds City Council had been aware of Mr Town's health issues, which included a small stroke, loss of hearing and chest infections since the brain haemorrhage."Any council should not get away with making people live like that. I am really angry with them. I want them to acknowledge what they've done," she a spokesperson for Leeds City Council said repairs were carried out on several occasions in an attempt to resolve the issue at Mr and Mrs Town's home."Unfortunately, the root cause was not addressed, and the issue returned when there was heavy rainfall," they said."The property remained habitable during the tenancy, although Leeds City Council apologise for not being able to resolve the matter fully." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
