Army called to grenade found by litter picker
FINDER SUFFERS INJURY WHEN LIQUID LEAKS FROM DEVICE
THE bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion after a litter-picker found a grenade on a school playing field.
The Army team detonated the device in a skip on the Ashby School playing fields in Range Road, at 9.50pm on Sunday.
The fire service called in police at 1pm after a woman volunteer collecting litter on the fields picked up a phosphorus grenade.
Police cordoned off the area until the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit carried out the controlled explosion.
The woman suffered a slight burn on her foot and was advised to get herself checked out at hospital as a precaution. No-one else was hurt.
A fire service spokeswoman said: “We were called by a member of the public at 12.08pm after a woman out litter-picking on Ashby School playing fields picked up a container.
“The container had a substance in it that leaked out and set fire to the grass. It happened more than once.
“She injured her foot slightly. It was believed to have been a phosphorus grenade as used in the past by the Army.
“The police and bomb squad were called in to assist one fire crew from Ashby in dealing with the incident.
The bomb squad used a skip to carry out a controlled explosion.”
A police spokeswoman said: “A member of the public had found a small container of hazardous liquid in an area of Range Road.
“A small amount of the liquid had leaked out and ignited, causing an injury to the woman’s foot.
“Officers attended and a cordon was put in place.
“A sample of the liquid was taken for testing at the National Hazardous Materials Testing Centre.
“The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit were called to the scene and removed the container to a safe location where a controlled explosion was carried out.”