A member of staff from a Crowthorne diving business made a shock discovery whilst searching the River Thames last weekend.
Gareth, a safety diver from Divecrew, had been searching the river bed near a slipway just north of Wokingham Borough in preparation for the River Thames swimming marathon event the following day.
The business has been providing safety divers for major open water events for more than a decade.
Gareth was searching the river bed on Saturday when he discovered a gun inside a case.
Divecrew co-owner Martin Weddell told Wokingham Today: “Our elite safety team works with our partner, Swim Safety, searching for anything underwater that may harm contestants, and providing safety rescue divers for anyone that leaves the surface of the water.
“When searching the bottom of the body of water, our team has found, and recovered, all sorts of items, including cutlery, a bedstead, a motor bike, broken bottles, wedding bands, a Rolex watch and even a live mortar shell.”
Gareth added: “The gun was somewhat buried in the silt and mud on the bottom of the river bed.
“I’m not sure how long it had been in the water, nor how far it might have drifted from where it had first entered the water.”
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police told Wokingham Today: “We received a report of a firearm being found in the River Thames near Henley Road, Medmenham, at around 11am on Saturday, August 10.
“Armed officers attended and seized the weapon, which was thought to be an air pistol, so that it can be made safe.”
Divecrew work on community, national and international events.
One of its team was at the Paris Olympics, standing by on all open water swimming events. They will also be represented at the ParaOlympics.
