A homeowner in Wirral, Merseyside, made a shocking discovery while working after finding a live Second World War grenade.
Andy Richardson, 65, was renovating his house in Lower Heswall when he uncovered the destructive device.
He initially thought it was a toy before realising it was the real deal, took it outside, and called the police who eventually carried out a controlled explosion.
What work was he doing to his house?
Mr Richardson was restoring a fireplace at his property, which was originally a coach house that was converted into accommodation in the 1950s.
He told the Wirral Globe: “An extension was added during this time and a big fireplace with a chimney was installed.
“Later down the line, someone put a stone centre into the fireplace which created alcoves with shelves on either side of the original fireplace.
“I was trying to pull the shelves out but it was very difficult, so I began using hammers and crowbars to try and get this shelving out.”
Grenade with pin still inside found behind fireplace
He added: “I found old matches and children’s toy makeup sets and then I thought ‘what’s this on the righthand side?’ and I pulled out what I thought was a toy hand grenade.
“When I realised I thought ‘Oh dear I best be careful here’ and then I put it on the side and thought ‘What should I do with it?’.”
The grenade appears to be a ‘Mills Bomb’, the name given to the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army, which saw widespread use in the First and Second World Wars.
The renovator took photographs of the weapon before moving it into his back garden and surrounding it with bricks and calling police.
Police cordoned off road before detonating grenade on the beach
The police cordoned off the road before the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit arrived.
Mr Richardson added: “A couple of guys from the bomb squad turned up from the army and said they would take it down to Hoylake Beach to detonate.
“Initially I asked if I could keep it if they disarmed it but they said I couldn’t which I expected so I went down to the beach and watched.”
“There was a small explosion which was the grenade detonating and then a bigger one which destroyed it and blew a hole in the sand.”
At the time, a spokesperson for Merseyside Police told the Wirral Globe: "We can confirm a hand grenade was safely detonated in Wirral today (Thursday, March 14).
"We were contacted at 8.40am following reports the grenade had been found in a property under renovation in the Gayton area."
