IPSWICH divers who hit the jackpot when they discovered a sunken ship's bell have today revealed how they have become obsessed with unearthing the boat's history.

IPSWICH divers who hit the jackpot when they discovered a sunken ship's bell have today revealed how they have become obsessed with unearthing the boat's history.

Since Andy Tyas and Dean Lefevre found the treasure on the wreck of the LOM in August, 22 miles off the Cornish coast, they have been working non-stop, with the help of fellow diver Chantal Ransome, to get their hands on all the information they can.

Mr Tyas, 44, who lives in Tower Mill Road, said: “It has involved searching into the historical archives and maritime museums to try to get the plans for the original ship.

“We wanted to know what the ship looked like and now we know, because when we saw it under the sea it was simply a bit of mangled metal.

“We have the pictures of it, the plans and the dimensions, it is like completing a bit of the puzzle about its past.

“The next step is finding the names of the seamen who were on board and then finding out what it was that caused her to sink.

“It would have to have been something pretty large as she was built to go through ice so we think it might have been a U-boat”

Mr Tyas said that the LOM, which was built in 1904 and sunk in 1941, had really managed to intrigue the trio who belong to the Abyss Explores diving team.

He added: “Finding the bell was so amazing so we had a link with the ship straight away, and Chantal has been great at digging through the records to find out all about it.”

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