Man hands in bomb he had used as a doorstop for 40 years

A man sparked a bomb scare after walking into a police station with an artillery shell – which he had used as a doorstop for 40 years.

The resident strolled into Heavitree Police Station in Exeter, Devon, on Sunday morning with the device in a Wilko carrier bag.

He told officers he had been using it as a doorstop for four decades but wanted to get rid of it now because it was too rusty.

The Royal Navy bomb disposal unit from Plymouth was called to investigate but quickly established it had already been deactivated.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the man brought the device in as part of a force-wide weapons amnesty.

‘The projectile was probably from the 1950s and it is being destroyed in a controlled explosion,’ a spokesman added. 

Earlier this year, a school, nursery and homes had to be evacuated after a suspected unexploded Second World War bomb was found on a building site in London.

The man told officers at the station he had been using it as a doorstop for four decades but wanted to get rid of it now because it was too rusty

The discovery saw the Army called to the scene in Brondesbury Park, North West London, as well two fire engines and 14 firefighters.

Local residents told of ‘scary’ scenes as police knocked on their doors and told them to leave their homes on The Avenue, which has an average house value of £850,000.

One resident tweeted: ‘There’s an unexploded World War Two bomb on a construction site near my house! Scary!’

And in May hundreds of families had to leave their homes after an unexploded German bomb weighing 550lb was found at a construction site.

The discovery in Priory Road, Aston sparked a full-scale evacuation of surrounding houses and businesses. 

Devon and Cornwall Police said the man brought the device in as part of a force-wide weapons amnesty