'We've found hundreds of weapons by magnet-fishing'

A father and son pair have discovered bombs, axes, machetes and guns in Scotland's canals since taking up magnet-fishing five years ago.

Mark McGeachin, 42, and his son James, nine, trawl Scotland's waterways for weaponry every week.

The activity involves using a strong magnet on a rope to search waters for magnetic objects.

Mark, from Glasgow, started the Glasgow Magnet Fishing group in 2019 and told the BBC how hundreds have joined him.

He said every gun or bomb found is reported to Police Scotland.

Mark was inspired to start the group, which carries the slogan "Dookin for chibs and shooters", after seeing American magnet-fishers trawling for guns on YouTube.

His first magnet cost just £13.99 and arrived the very next day.

"I went up to Kirkintilloch and I found seven knives and an axe on my first day," he added.

The Facebook group "exploded" during lockdown, when restrictions on indoor meet-ups drove people outdoors.

"Everything was shut and I had an outdoor activity where we could stay apart," he said.

"So all these people in Glasgow started buying magnets and coming out with me, sometimes groups of 50 or 60 people."

He says he's met "hundreds" of new people from the activity, with the group arranging meet-ups all over Scotland every Saturday.

"As soon as I started it up, I was obsessed with finding knives and guns," he added.

"I'm not a violent person but it's exciting and the mind boggles at the stuff you find.

"I think when the fun stops, I'll stop."

His son James said the pair have found "guns, machetes and katanas" on their expeditions.

"I enjoy it because I get to go out with my friends there," said James. "The craziest things we've found are bombs, and some of them could be active."

Mark calls the bomb squad to dispose of any ordnance they find and he claims some of them have been live and active.

He told BBC Scotland how he has had to phone the police "almost every time" he went magnet-fishing at Dalmarnock Bridge, as it neighbours a former munitions factory.

"The police love and hate me," he said.

"They told me to stay off the bridge because every time I find a bit of ordnance it costs them a lot of money and there's public safety to think about as well.

"It's my hobby and I've not got a criminal record and I don't want one."

The group have also found motorbikes and cars, including a Ford Focus, in the Maryhill canals.

But five years on, Mark says he is starting to get slightly "fed up" of finding countless weapons and he hopes to find more historical artefacts, with plans to dive down to the wreck of a pirate ship from the 1700s.

He said: "A lot of my friends down south have found Anglo-Saxon things.

"One of them found a Viking sword that's now in a museum, and I'd like a bit of that.

"We've got lots planned all over Scotland so this year is going to be a good year for the group."

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Whilst magnet fishing is not illegal, in some circumstances where there has been a clear disregard for public safety, a charge of culpable and reckless conduct may be applied to those who persist in this activity.

"Police Scotland will continue to work with those who take part in magnet fishing and other interested partners to encourage responsibility in their actions all with a view to increasing the safety of both those involved and the general public."