They have been spotted on the banks in and along the River Frome for many weeks now, trawling the murky waters with their magnets and hauling out the history of the waters - good and bad.

Retrieving metals from the river has turned into a spectator sport for the people of the town of Frome, so Nub News went to find out more.

The pair of friends have had good and bad days in terms of their 'fishing' expeditions and while the metal barely covers their costs, they have found some items of interest and are already talking Frome Library and local historians, but, perhaps most importantly, they have been clearing and cleaning the river.

Friends, Hecter Rogers and Deano Bartlett have been magnet fishing for the past seven years, and on local rivers and canals, part of a national group who take industrial-strength magnets into the waters to drag up anything that has been thrown or washed away.

Or lost and hidden ?

In Frome their finds have included a machete, a weapon which could date back to the civil war, a WWII issue rifle barrel and scooters, lots and lots of scooter, around 20 just from working this stretch of the river. Each time they bring up 600 or 700 kilos of metal.

Deano Bartlett, told us about his hobby: "We belong to a national group who are called dippers and scrappers and magnet fishing is an adventure every time, so it is a hobby really. But the things we find, well we find it all... you can imagine. But it is always nice to be thanked for the clearing up we do."

The pair plan on working their way down to Spring Gardens where they believe there might be some pickings left over from Frome's weaving days, perhaps some weapons too from when American troops were based nearby.

He added : " We have found anything and everything and nothing. But that's what makes it interesting. Every time we come out we are surprised."

What do they do with the finds ?

They work with industrial strength magnets, the bigger of which can bring up 1600 kilos, the size and weight, and they proved it, of a full sized motorcycle.

But that is rare, mainly they find just bits of corroded metal, shopping trolleys, poles, tool bits and bikes.

If they find a weapon, or a part of one, however corroded or old they notify the police.

If they find a safe or money box that too they tell police about. ( They have found a safe but it was empty !)

If after 28 days no one claims what they have found, they get to keep it, and now, as eager historians, much of it ends up back in their homes in Frome and Radstock.

They carry their trawl back in trolleys and sell the scrap, making just enough to cover the petrol costs of getting to the river, and perhaps a companionable meal as they pore over that day's finds.

Hecter Rogers is amused by the fact they have become local 'celebrities'. He told us: " We are stopped every few minutes now by someone passing who asks us what we have found and if we have found anything good. One man spent ages just watching us in the river, saying it was better than television!"

Hecter thinks this particular stretch of the river may now have given up all its treasure, so they will move to another stretch and clear that too.

So it is great for ecology and for making the river look better. In their expeditions they have spotted fish of course, lots of rats and sadly a lot of rubbish which they also take out if they can and put into the nearby bins.

One thing they have never caught ? An illness.

Hecter said: " We do get lots of cuts too, but we have never been sick ever. I must have a great immune system."