A propeller thought to be from a Second World War plane has been found buried in a peat bog, sparking an investigation.

The blade had been wrapped in potato sacks, with contractor Stewart Lambie initially worried he may have discovered human remains during the peatland restoration work at Coire a’Bhradain on Arran.

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has now launched a probe to identify its origin.

The NTS said there had been six Second World War plane crashes on land it cares for on Arran, which are now protected sites.

Aircraft crashed in that particular area during the conflict, but the new discovery falls outside of the two previously known sites.

Experts believe the blade may have come from a B17 Flying Fortress or a B24 Liberator.

The NTS is now working with relevant organisations and following procedures, such as informing the Military Crash Register, before any further work can be carried out.

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Derek Alexander, the trust’s head of archaeology, said: “We are intrigued by the discovery of the propeller blade, which certainly looks to be from a WWII plane.

“There are two previously known plane crash sites further up the glen on the steep cliff side of Beinn Nuis, but this object was found outside the mapped spread of debris from both of these, which has caused some uncertainty about which aircraft they belong to.”

The blade was discovered when the contractor’s excavator bucket struck something “solid and metallic”.

Mr Alexander said: “On closer inspection, we found it had been wrapped and tied in a potato sack, which added further intrigue to the find that lay some distance from the spread of the wreckage of the former crash sites.

“It may have been gathered during the clean-up of the site in the 1940s, immediately after the impact, or through subsequent work by the trust in the 1980s.

“It’s too early to tell, but we are determined to get to the bottom of it.”

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The crash site closest to where the propeller blade was found is that of a B24 Liberator, which came down on 24 August 1943 with the loss of all 11 crew and passengers.

The bodies were recovered shortly afterwards, but the location is still protected today under the 1986 Protection of Military Remains Act.

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Mr Alexander said the trust was not permitted to remove the wreckage without permission.

It is now working with an aviation and aircraft expert to identify the objects and potentially match serial numbers of the parts to historic records held by the military.

Kate Sampson, senior ranger at the NTS on Arran, said: “I think our contractor was shocked when he saw the end of the potato sack sticking out of the bog, as his first thought was that it could be human remains.

“However, with careful excavation, the wrapped propeller was revealed with a rope still tied around it, and we suspect someone might have been dragging the propeller down the hill when it sunk deep into the peat, not to be recovered until now.”

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