A HUGE second world war mine was blown up by the Royal Navy after it was dredged up by a fishing boat’s nets near the new multi-million pound windfarm off Clacton.

The controlled explosion sent a plume of water 200ft into the air, six miles off Holland-on-Sea.

The horned mine - designed for use against shipping in World War II - was packed with around 500kg of high explosives.

The fishing vessel Janine trawled up the mine on St George's Day.

Thames Coastguard spokesman David Mantripp said it was about a mile from Gunfleet Sands where the new windfarm is being built. Windfarm bosses were kept informed of developments throughout the drama.

Divers from the Royal Navy's bomb and mine disposal team went down to inspect the mine.

A one-mile exclusion zone was set up as explosives were attached to it.

The mine was successfully destroyed at 10am on Tuesday.

Haze meant the explosion couldn't be seen from the land but Thames Coastguard said people may have heard a "thump" as the mine was detonated.

"There is a lot of stuff out there at the moment and the trawlers bring them up," said Mr Mantripp.

"There was no danger to the windfarm at all - they are very, very safety-conscious," he added.