Evacuations after grenade found in charity shop

A FIRST world war hand grenade discovered among items from a boot sale caused part of Ipswich to be sealed off today.

Police received a call from the MIND shop in St Matthew's Street at 11.15am after they discovered the grenade in goods that had been donated.

The initial report suggested the device still had the pin in it.

It was discarded at the rear of the premises in the men's toilet while bomb disposal experts were despatched to the scene and workers evacuated.

Stores including Iceland was evacuated, as was the New Wolsey Theatre.

When the bomb disposal team arrived an area of 30 square metres was sealed off.

The incident finished at around 12.15pm.

MIND store manager Gill Dibben said: I have found some unusual things in my time here but I have never found a hand grenade.

“At first we were going to take it to the police station on foot but then I thought maybe that's not such a good idea so we put it in the gents toilet and called police.

“The whole thing was surreal - it was like watching the Bill.”

She said the grenade, believed to have been made in 1915, would be donated to a museum.