Fact check: Image shows decommissioned missile in Welsh countryside
The missile is owned by a military enthusiast.
A widely shared post on social media showed what appears to be a missile on the back of a truck.
The caption read: “Meanwhile in Wales. Rambler accidentally stumbles across this in the Deep Dark Countryside. Probably getting ready for whatever False Flag comes next”.
Evaluation
The missile has been sitting in the same location for several months, separate images online show. The Press Association spoke to the owner of the missile, a military enthusiast who said it was decommissioned and described it as “just a tin tube”. The type of missile was withdrawn from service in the 1980s.
The facts
An internet search found this eye-catching item had been noticed previously. Other photographs on social media site Reddit showed the number plate of the truck that the missile is sitting on.
Searching for this number plate led to the name and contact details of its owner, Adrian Hyde. The Press Association has decided not to link to the Reddit post or the site with the contact details to help preserve Mr Hyde’s privacy somewhat.
Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Hyde revealed he had bought the missile – a Thunderbird surface-to-air – last year after his wife died.
The couple had a dream to buy a decommissioned tank for their 50th birthdays, but had to abandon the plan after his wife was diagnosed with cancer.
Mr Hyde, now 59, said Janette died last January.
“For our 50th we were buying a tank, it was going to be a Russian one then. We cleared all the garden for it, all ready for it to come from Poland, importing it. And she was diagnosed with cancer, so we cancelled a lot of things.”
Firstly, Mr Hyde bought a tank, but then “it snowballed a little bit”, he said. He now owns several pieces of old military equipment – all now harmless – including the Thunderbird.
“It’s Cold War era, from the 50s/60s,” he said, adding that a friend had made the frame for it and bolted it onto the back of the truck – a Bedford from 1957.
“The missile is just a tin tube, that’s all it is. It’s even sprayed in the wrong colour as well … they’re usually white or green.” The Thunderbird was withdrawn from service in the 1980s, according to the Imperial War Museums.
Mr Hyde also set up a fundraiser after his wife’s death for the Candy Tibby Trust, a cat rescue charity in Wrexham. Mr Hyde is currently planning to sell the missile and truck for around £15,000 and donate a majority of the money to the charity.