A spooked treasure hunter sparked a major evacuation when they hit a live hand grenade with their spade.
The bomb was found just four inches below the surface, forcing a group of metal detectorists to call the cops.
While strolling through the countryside during a planned event, club members hit upon an odd-shaped, sturdy object.
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They quickly got to work and didn’t realise what they’d discovered until it was unearthed.
Despite knocking the grenade with a shovel, the group came away unscathed.
Members of Kendal Metal Detecting Club called the authorities, and officers arrived at the scene near Flookburgh, near Kendal, Cumbria, on Sunday (17 Aug).
The bomb was carefully moved and placed on a farmer’s wall before a disposal group from Catterick arrived to carry out a controlled explosion, as reported by Need To Know.
A police spokesperson said: “Some of you may have wondered about the police activity near Flookburgh on Sunday, along with the army.
“During a metal detecting event, a hand grenade was found, which was found to be live.
“Thankfully, it was placed on a wall, and the area was quickly evacuated.
“Bomb disposal experts came out from Catterick, and within a couple of hours, the grenade was detonated.
“Every day, all sorts of ordinances are discovered in our county, and it is important to handle these things correctly and immediately inform the police.
“If you do find anything from a hand grenade to a simple bullet, please do not handle it unnecessarily and place it somewhere away from people and property.
“The police can come out and assess it, and if necessary, we can get the bomb disposal experts out.”
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