Nuisance pillars that have menaced local sailors in the Solent for years have finally been removed by Navy divers earlier this week.
 
The two concrete and wood pillars stood eight metres from the seabed of the Solent off Stokes Bay, Gosport.
 
They were remains of an old pier but proved an annoyance, with many sailors and fishermen scraping their hulls or getting their fishing nets caught on the columns.
 
The Royal Navy’s Southern Diving Unit Two (SDU2), based in Port Solent, agreed to remove the pillars in order to gain experience and improve safety on the water.
 
SDU2 leading diver Luke Halbauer said: “There were two obstructions that were under the surface and invisible for a number of years causing problems for sailors using this part of the Solent.
 
“When we went down to inspect the pillars we found an assortment of nets tangled around them where fishing trawlers had obviously not known they were there.
 
“Our role was to remove the pillars, using explosives and clear this bit of waterway of hazards.”