HAMPSHIRE coastguards have issued a stark safety warning after teenagers risked their lives handling a rocket flare.
Three youths were fishing at Hurst Castle on the shores of The Solent near Milford on Sea when they discovered the innocuous-looking device washed up on the beach.
Unaware that the tube-shaped rocket had the potential to fire at 200mph, they picked it up for a closer look.
Devastating' But a passer-by spotted the danger and alerted coastguards who immediately dispatched a vehicle from Lymington.
Deputy station officer Colin Tabor said: "Our crew got there quickly. It could have been nasty and they did not know what they were going to encounter when they arrived.
"If it had been fired incorrectly it could have had devastating consequences.
"The youths were just fishing and were totally oblivious to what it was and what it could do."
When coastguards arrived at the scene, they used a public address system to instruct the youngsters to put down the nine-inch rocket. It was then placed in a secure metal container.
Mr Tabor said the powerful flares, used by seafarers to alert coastguards in an emergency, produced a huge plume of coloured smoke.
He added: "Flares do get washed up here from time to time. It would not have taken much at all to set this one off.
"To all people visiting our beaches, the message is clear - do not touch and do not pick them up. Leave them there, dial 999 and ask to speak to the coastguard. They are potentially lethal weapons."
