An Army bomb disposal team was called to a Rutland village after First World War hand grenades were discovered and reported to police online. The discovery prompted officials to enlist the help of a local farmer's field to carry out a controlled detonation of the device.
Melton police said an Army bomb disposal unit was brought in to handle the situation, with the assistance of a local farmer who provided a field for the controlled detonation. Officers shared an image showing the moment of detonation - a small orange light visible in the distance.
The controlled explosion was described as "just a small spark, but quite the bang". A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said the grenade was reported just after 10.40am on Monday (January 24), after the device was found at an address in Main Street, Empingham.
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Police said: "The devices were found inside a residential address and were detonated by Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) once they were able to attend and remove them." The incident went on for several hours, concluding just after 7.30pm, said police
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "We can confirm [an EOD] team was called out to Main Street, Oakham, at the request of Leicestershire Police. The EOD operator safely moved a number of rifle grenades to a safe location for subsequent demolition."
When asked what had taken so long for the devices to be made safe, the Ministry of Defence declined to comment. It also declined to say how many grenades were found.
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