Unexploded World War 2 Grenade Found By 9-Year-Old UK Boy In His Garden

The boy was searching in the back garden when he uncovered a small explosive and came running into the house to tell his mother about it.

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It was taken to a nearby field and safely detonated

A young boy in the UK who was searching for bones in his garden in East Devon made quite an ''explosive'' discovery, prompting a call to the bomb disposal squad. According to a report by Metro, 9-year-old George Peniston-Bird, from Yarcombe, was searching in the back garden when he uncovered a small explosive and came running into the house to tell his mother about it.

Initially, his mother was doubtful about it, but she soon rang 101. The operator quickly put her through to 999 and the police arrived at their home around 20 minutes later.

Mrs Peniston-Bird told DevonLive, ''I was absolutely sparko [half asleep] after a really late night and he came running into the bedroom and said, “You've got to wake up, I've found a grenade! And I went, “Oh yeah absolutely, I'm sure you have, that's fantastic, why don't you go and take a picture of it,” like all mothers do and thought, “That's just going to be a bit of rubbish He ran back in the house with his iPad, thrust it in my face and I was so half asleep and said, “Oh… that might actually be a grenade.''

The officers said that it appeared to be a grenade and called in the bomb disposal squad. The soldiers took an X-ray of the object and discovered that the explosive was still live. Police have described it as an "unexploded World War 2 grenade".

It was then taken to a nearby field and safely detonated, sending mud over a hedge into another area. Meanwhile, the boy's mother said the discovery and the visit from the police and bomb squad were very exciting for George.

Rural East Devon Police also later shared the pictures of the grenade and details of the incident on their Facebook page and wrote, ''It's been an explosive afternoon for our colleagues at Rural East Devon Response.''

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See the post here:

''This might sound concerning but is surprisingly common in Devon & Cornwall where a number of devices either wash on shore or are located when clearing out a loved-ones property after being kept as a keepsake. Only last week in Colyton our officers from Seaton Neighbourhood Policing Team attended a similar report, with the grenade being detonated safely in a field behind the property,'' they added.

Even though it is rare, unexploded bombs from WWI and WW2 are still discovered occasionally. 

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