Live bomb taken into school for a ‘show and tell’
A GRANDAD passed a Second World War bomb around his family for decades without realising it was live.
Old soldier Gerwyn Miles even took it into a primary school to show his granddaughter’s classmates.
He had found the bomb on a beach while serving in the Far East more than 70 years ago and took it home as a souvenir.
It was kept in his house before being passed around various relatives’ houses and even taken into a school for a show and tell.
But his daughter Lynis Jones and husband Lyn realised it was still live when they found it during a clearout.
Army bomb disposal experts were called to their home in Bridgend, South Wales.
Lynis said: “It was a huge shock when we realised that this device that had been in the family for years was actually a live bomb.
“The unit arrived around 11pm and I was really worried about the neighbours because it was very noisy.
“They said it looked live because it was in such good condition. They took it out to the van and X-rayed it, which confirmed it was live.
“They said if it had not been moved around as much as it had they would have evacuated the whole street but because we had handled it so much the decision was made not to.
“If it had been lying in an attic for years and years, they definitely would have evacuated everyone in the area.”
Lynis’ daughter Jessica said her grandfather – who died 12 years ago – would have found the story hilarious.
She said: “I remember bringing it into school with grampa to show off to all my friends when I was seven.
“My grandad must be laughing so hard at all of this.”
South Wales Police said they set up a 200-metre exclusion zone while a controlled explosion was carried out.
A spokeswoman said: “An ordnance disposal team inspected the device and plans were put in place to dispose of it safely.”