A MAN who was clearing out an old house got the fright of his life when he discovered two World War Two grenades stashed in a biscuit tin.
Bomb disposal teams were called out to the address in Sheldon, West Midlands, on Wednesday following the surprising find.
Stephen Craven Snr had been emptying the home and only discovered what was inside the tin when he was checking through metal in the back of his van.
After opening the container, the 52-year-old, who owns the clearing company, could not believe his eyes when he spotted the grenades – including one with the pin in.
Stephen, from Garretts Green, West Midlands, immediately called the police who quickly secured the area and contacted the Bomb Disposal unit for assistant.
Police secured the area and Stephen claims they confirmed the bombs were from World War Two.
Stephen’s son, also called Stephen, shared an account of the incident to TikTok yesterday writing: “So my dad found two hand grenades on a house clearance and then this happened.”
It has since attracted 8,000 views on the social media site.
Stephen Jnr, 22, today said: “My dad had cleared a house in Sheldon. the people who occupied the house no longer lived there.
“My dad was sorting the metal in the back of his van when he discovered two hand grenades in a tin from World War Two – one with the pin still in.
“That’s when he contacted the authorities. The police came out and within minutes the side road was blocked and there was a heavy police presence.
“They sent a picture of the grenades to the army and the Bomb Disposal team turned up and confirmed they where World War Two hand grenades and deemed them safe and removed them from the van.”
Speaking today An Army spokesperson said: “An Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called out to Yardley North, Birmingham, at the request of West Midlands Police and two grenades from the WWII era were safely removed.”
A spokesperson for West Midland’s Police said: “We were alerted to two grenades found in a van on The Meadway just before 5pm on Wednesday (27 April) following an earlier house clearance.
“A cordon was put in place as a precaution until they could be assessed by the EOD. They were established to be safe and the cordon was lifted by 8.30pm.
“There were no suspicious circumstances.
“We thank everyone for their patience.”
