carry out a controlled explosion after a shell was discovered on Horseshoe Bay yesterday afternoon.

And Police could now be forced to carry out an extensive search of the Island's coast for more devices after it was revealed that yesterday's discovery was the second since Hurricane Gert hit on Tuesday.

Last night Police were unable to give details of the first device, which is also thought to have been discovered on Horseshoe Bay.

A Police spokeswoman confirmed that this week's rough seas were probably responsible for washing the bomb onto the shore and that more devices may be washed up.

The explosive, a one-foot long military mortar shell packing the power of about 20 hand grenades, was discovered by an English visitor in about a foot of water at the western end of the beach shortly before 11 a.m..

Although covered in rust, the mortar was still primed to explode.

Once the alarm had been raised Police were called in and evacuated the beach while a Police cordon was set up at the top of the beach road to stop more bathers arriving.

A Police spokeswoman said: "Police, on arrival and after a careful inspection, called out the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

"The object, believed to be some form of military mortar shell, was described as cylindrical, approximately one foot in length and rusty. It also had tail fins and the remainder of a nose fuse pin still intact.

"Based on this it was decided it would be safer to detonate the device rather than transport it away.

"Officer in charge of EOD, Insp. Mark Bothello, immediately ordered the beach cleared of approximately 200 beachgoers and cordoned off the area at approximately 1 p.m. There was one controlled explosion of the device just after 3 p.m..'' After attaching a detonating coil to the device officers placed the bomb in a hole which was then covered with sandbags. The disposal team then walked back to the safety of the beach's burger bar, about 100 meters away from the site before detonating the device.

David Skinner, a photographer with The Royal Gazette who had a grandstand view of the controlled explosion, said: "There was a deafening roar and a huge plume of sand went up about 20 feet into the air.

"We then had to wait several minutes to make sure that the bomb site was safe.'' Once the all-clear had been given firefighters from the service's Emergency Support Unit moved in to clear the site of highly toxic phosphorous debris.

Lt. Jon Thompson, of the Bermuda Fire Service, said: "There was an area about five feet by five feet of this hazardous material.

"We had two fire trucks and 13 personnel wearing protective clothing.

Phosphorous reacts when it's exposed to the air and it can burn.'' Horseshoe Bay bombed! "We had to pick up that layer of sand and put it in drums and just make the area safe.'' Although the beach was closed for the remainder of yesterday, a Police spokeswoman said the popular bathing spot would re-open to members of the public today.

The alarm was raised by Marilyne Russell, from Wiltshire in the UK, who is on holiday in Bermuda with her husband John.

"I was just walking into the sea for a swim when I noticed this thing in the water,'' Mrs. Russell said.

"Luckily I had been watching where I was going. It was about a foot long with fins and a detonator.

"I stared at it for about a minute and then got my husband. You could see it was a bomb because it had fins.'' Mrs. Russell contacted the life guard who then began evacuating the beach. Liz and Tom Deneka, on holiday from New Jersey, were two of hundreds of bathers asked to move.

"They closed off the first section of the beach and moved everyone up one end,'' Mrs. Deneka said.

"Then they said there was nowhere to take the bomb so they had to close the whole beach. Nobody was panicking or anything though.'' Last night a Police spokeswoman warned that more explosives may be washed up on the Island's beaches as a result of Hurricane Gert.

And she warned members of the public to contact the emergency services immediately should they come across anything suspicious.

"If people discover suspicious things on the beach, we would ask them not to touch it and to call the Police right away,'' the spokeswoman said.

"This has been the second device in almost as many days and is obviously connected to the rough seas of earlier in the week which has uncovered things.

"But whether or not this warrants a full coastal search is really up to the Marine Police. It's too early to say what our contingency plan is at this stage. Insp. Bothello has issued a general safety precaution to those finding suspicious looking objects on the beach, particularly as the seas have been rough and can dislodge objects long buried. Residents and visitors are asked not to touch or handle such items. Police should be called immediately on 295-0011.''