A sea mine which washed up on an Orkney beach has been destroyed by the bomb squad.

The area was cordoned off after the bomb was found on the South Ronaldsay side of the fourth Churchill Barrier on Monday.

It was blown up by the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team at around 10am on Tuesday.

Around 70,000 sea mines were deployed in the North Sea between Orkney and Norway during the First World War.

The North Sea Mine Barrage was designed to prevent German U-boats from crossing the Atlantic and targeting British shipping lanes.

Eight submarines are believed to have been destroyed by the minefield and at least another eight were damaged.

A number of civilian ships also fell victim to rogue mines in the years following the end of the war, including a Swedish ship which went down with 20 men aboard after striking a mine in October 1919.