3 days ago
Bomb scare after man pulls pin on antique grenade
A street was evacuated by a bomb squad after a man pulled the pin on an antique hand grenade.
Army personnel sealed off Bixton Close in Northwick, Worcestershire, after the resident caused panic on Sunday evening.
He had bought the RG-42 from an antiques market in Malvern more than a year ago for £30 and did not think it was a live device until he pulled the pin and it 'started making noises'.
The man, who did not want to be named, said he had been showing the item to a few friends when he pulled the pin and realised something was wrong.
He said: 'It started making noises. I noticed something was wrong as soon as I released the safety pin and the spoon sprung off it immediately.
'It made some sort of reaction similar to when a firework fuse is ignited. It was a spilt second, I immediately threw this at the rear of the garden and evacuated the property and called the police.
'I was told to be a minimum 100m away and try to alert neighbours. Police arrived within several minutes.'
A bomb squad X-rayed the grenade to see if it was still active, the resident said.
He said one member of the team was 'sure it was decommissioned but not certain, so he put it inside what looked to be a heavy-duty explosives box and told me he is going to dispose of it back at base'.
'A few people were worried in the street. The area was locked for about three to four hours,' he added.
West Mercia Police, alongside an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, attended the scene at about 7pm.
A police spokesman said: 'The EOD team X-rayed the grenade and found it was empty, so there was no need for a controlled explosion.'
The resident said he 'never intended to cause harm or distress' to anyone and had been led to believe the item was deactivated when he purchased it.
The Russian grenade is a collectable for Second World War enthusiasts and is distinguishable by its cylindrical design.
