Green fingers unearths 1,500 bullets

AN ENTHUSIASTIC gardener is lucky to have all of his green fingers after a shock find behind the home he bought just last year.

Frank Deegan was making hay while the sun shone on Sunday until he found more than 1,500 bullets in the clay, that is.

He was digging away, preparing for grass he hoped to roll out over the plot over the coming days when he made the find in Mooncoin, close to the Kilkenny/Waterford border.

All work was halted as gardaí checked the area with metal detectors yesterday.

"They think some of the bullets are about 25 to 30 years old," said the security camera installation worker as he watched officers at work yesterday afternoon.

"We've no idea where they came from," said the 35-year-old bachelor. "I bought this place last year. It's about 15 years old. I don't know whose they are, but they are not mine."

When Mr Deegan discovered the cache in about two feet of clay, he immediately notified gardaí in nearby Waterford and a number of officers arrived at his home to examine the find.

The ammunition was later removed to Waterford Garda Station, where a preliminary investigation was carried out. The cache is being transferred to Dublin for more detailed forensic examination by ballistics experts.

A garda spokesperson refused to comment on any possible subversive links to the find and would not be drawn on how old the ammunition is or how long it might have been in the ground.