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THAT THERE AN ESTIMATED 40,000 SHIPWRECKS AROUND THE WATERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES AND SOME HAVE TRULY FASCINATING STORIES FROM HEROIC RESCUES TO AN EERIE SIGHT 10:21, 05 Jun 2025Updated

10:24, 05 Jun 2025 We've got the wrecks factor folks! Daily Star revealed that the remains of a British ship with a cargo of riches may have been found. It’s reckoned that the last

resting place of the Recovery, which sank in 1787 stuffed with marble and bronze artworks, has been identified off the coast of Ireland. But did you know that there an estimated 40,000

shipwrecks around the waters of the British Isles? Here JAMES MOORE looks at some of their fascinating stories… BLOW ME! The SS Montgomery, lying in the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, Kent,

is the nation’s most dangerous wreck. The World War Two American cargo ship ran aground in 1944 loaded with 1,400 tonnes of high explosives. Its masts still peep above the surface warning of

the dangers below. If the vessel ever detonated it could cause local devastation. MYSTERY BLAST: One ship that really did blow up in the Thames Estuary was HMS London in 1665. Diarist

Samuel Pepys recorded the loss of the Navy craft, which sank killing 300 people. The wreck was rediscovered in 2005, but the exact cause of its demise remains unknown. Article continues

below ROYAL ESCAPE: In 2022 the remains of HMS Gloucester were discovered 28 miles off the Norfolk coast. The 50-gun warship sank after hitting sandbanks in 1682. It was carrying hapless

king James II who survived, but only by abandoning ship at the last minute. Sadly, his delay cost the lives of 250 people who weren’t allowed to flee before he did, because of protocol.

ROCKS RIDDLE : On October 14, 1898, dinner was being served to passengers aboard the SS Mohegan, on route to New York, when the liner suddenly hit treacherous rocks off Cornwall’s Lizard

Peninsula. As the captain and officers were among the 106 who subsequently perished, just why it had drifted off course, despite warning rockets being fired, is still baffling. Today the

wreck is a haven for divers. HEROIC RESCUE : When the SS Forfarshire, a 400-ton paddle steamer, hit rocks off the Northumberland coast in 1838, Grace Darling, daughter of the local

lighthouse keeper, alerted her dad. The brave pair set off in a rowing boat in stormy seas to help. There were just nine survivors from the 60 aboard, stranded on rocks, who they plucked to

safety. The ship’s remains now lie beneath the surface. Article continues below EERIE SIGHT: When the tide is low enough, a ghostly skeleton emerges from the deep off Formby in Merseyside.

It’s the wreck of the Ionic Star, a cargo ship which ran aground on its way to Liverpool in 1939 carrying meat, fruit and cotton. Abandoned by its crew, the craft was used by the RAF for

target practice during World War Two. TRAWLER TRAGEDY : The wreck of the Admiral von Tromp fishing trawler can be still seen in Saltwick Bay near Whitby, North Yorkshire. It sank in 1976 in

murky circumstances. Skipper Frankie Taal had set course out to sea and gone to bed leaving experienced crewmate John Addison in charge but woke to find the boat foundering on rocks. Taal

survived, but Addison and another crew member died, leaving the cause of the altered course unexplained.