Hobbyist's shock at discovering a gun in the Lancaster Canal

A hobbyist fishing for metal objects in a Preston canal had a surprise when he discovered a discarded gun.

Trawling through the water with a magnet, Gareth Bryer pulled up what he believes is a disassembled gun from the Lancaster Canal on Thursday.

His shock discovery was made at around 11:15am after only 10 minutes of ‘metal fishing’ for mysteries hidden under the canal’s surface.

Amateur metalfisher Gareth, pictured inset, said: “It was in a bag that had ‘Preston Church’ on the front of it. I looked in it and saw what looked like a pistol that had been taken apart – stripped and them dumped.”

The hobby of magnet fishing involves using strong magnets to find metal objects that are hidden or lost underwater.

36-year-0ld Gareth made his discovery while searching the Lancaster Canal, just off the corner of Woodplumpton Road and Stocks Road in Ashton.

As well as the gun, Gareth also fished out a locked safe within the first ten minutes of being there.

And it wasn’t the first weapon Oldham-native Gareth has come across either.

He said: “Last week I was in Walsall and found two safes, six knives, and the barrel of a sawn off shotgun. It’s crazy what I’ve been coming across.”

Gareth documents his finds on his Youtube channel DrasticG, where he does weekly uploads and live streams to his growing audience.