Malua Bay residents Pam Blake and Brenda-Lee Tonna found the M49A1 surface trip flare near Dog Trap Road last weekend.

Ms Tonna picked it up, thinking it was a child’s toy, only to realise on closer inspection it was a weapon.

Within seconds, it exploded in Ms Tonna’s hand and burnt a hole in her shirt.

She dropped the flare and frantically put out the flames on her shirt.

Ms Tonna, still in shock, said she doesn’t remember much of what happened next, but her horse Bunyip bolted down the path.

Ms Blake, who was struggling to hold onto Archie’s reins, called emergency services to report the fire that started as a result of the explosion.

She said the fire threatened to separate the two riders.

“It was very scary,” she said. “She (Ms Tonna) didn’t want to leave Bunyip down there so she took off down the track.”

“I had to gallop him (Bunyip) through (the fire) to get back to Pam’s side,” Ms Tonna.

Ms Tonna said she wanted to stop when she reached Ms Blake, however she was told to keep going.

Because Archie was agitated from the explosion and fire, Ms Blake could not remount and was dragged up the road by the reins.

“Lucky it wasn’t a child,” Ms Tonna said. “Lucky I didn’t lose my horse.”

She said she was now

concerned for the safety of horses going the forest, children and into native animals.

It took more than two hours for the Mogo Rural Fire Brigade to put out the fire, which burnt 4000 square metres.

Ms Blake and Ms Tonna had to ride 1.5 hours to get the horses home before Ms Tonna could go to the hospital for treatment.

An Army representative visited the pair on Sunday morning.

Ms Blake said they were told M49A1 flares burn for 60 seconds and, had they looked at the flare’s light any longer, they could have had permanent damage to their sight.

A Defence Force spokesman said the Army did not have any records of training exercises being conducted in Mogo State Forest.

The spokesman said people who came across a suspicious item should not touch the device and should call police for assistance.

Source: Batemans Bay Post

Source: Batemans Bay Post