The shocking discovery was made on Saturday when Ryan Ball, 32, took his three children – aged 11, five and one – to the River Pool at Linear Park, between Catford and Sydenham. His son’s friend James White ran into a metal object at the bottom of the river while taking a dip to cool off. When they took it out, they realized it was a magazine that would contain bullets. This finding sparked a more thorough investigation that resulted in the discovery of a cache of up to 11 weapons, including Uzis and a revolver. There were also other weapons that had been disassembled before being thrown into the water, as well as items that have been described as possible “explosives”. At least 10 magazines and a number of single bullets were also collected from the water. Ball said: “We were on the river view walk where we regularly go with our children and my sons were playing with a 15-year-old boy, James, when he slipped on what appeared to be a magazine from a gun. “He then started looking around the water and then one by one he started pulling out everything you can see in the pictures. “I then contacted the police, who came and took the guns and are going to sweep the river for another.” Speaking to MyLondon, James said he “wished it was a bad dream”, adding that he feared the moment he found a “cone-shaped” metal object that it “might have been explosive”. After the weapons and ammunition were located, the police were called to the scene in the early evening. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police were called to Winsford Road, SE6, at 4.49pm on Saturday August 6 following reports of firearms being found in a river. Officers attended. “A firearm and ammunition were recovered and removed from the scene.”
