TWO Leigh soldiers dived into maritime history when they explored a First World War wreck in Bermuda.

Lance Sergeant Nick Ward and Corporal Paul Burrows carried out a daring underwater archaeological survey of a British ammunition ship wrecked off the coast of Bermuda in 1915.

They were members of a military sub-aqua diving team - the first ever official group to explore such a wreck.

Nick said: "The marine life in Bermuda is fascinating but it was the lure of diving on shipwrecks that made me determined to be part of the team."

The soldiers took part in Exercise Cockney Triangle exploring The Pollock Shields, which sank at Elbow Beach when it was delivering munitions from Cardiff to Bermuda.

The Bermuda police had banned diving to prevent accidental detonation of the decaying shells and the group were called in as part of the first stage of removing the ship from its shallow tourist waters.

Mr Clifford Smith, the conservation and underwater archeology director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum, said: "The military personnel were the ideal choice for working on this site because they would be the most sensitive to the needs of the explosives."

Both Nick and Paul are keen sportsmen and count diving as one of their major hobbies.

Nick, aged 30, joined the Coldstream Guards in 1986 and has served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Cyprus and Germany while Paul, a vehicle mechanic, joined the Army in 1985 and has served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 18 different countries, as far afield as Bolivia and the Ascension Islands.

Mr Smith added: "The island is a paradise for underwater archeologists. With mapped sites the divers can get a full view of the wrecks and their history."

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