By Adam Dutton via SWNS
Bomb squads descended on a quaint market town to carry out a controlled explosion after an ammunition shell was donated to a charity shop.
Army experts rushed to Wem, Shrops., and sealed off part of the town center after the device was discovered by staff in a bag of donations at the Severn Hospice store.
Police moved the 10-inch (25cm) item to a nearby car park on Leek Street and put up a 30-meter cordon before the bomb disposal unit arrived.
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team then carried out a controlled explosion following the security alert on Wednesday afternoon (April 17).
The hospice’s retail manager Carla Siswick said shocked workers at the shop came across the artillery shell while unpacking a bag of items handed in by a donor.
She said: “It’s not what we normally find. It was quite exciting, but also quite nerve-wracking.”
She told BBC Radio Shropshire: “It was quite an exciting Wednesday, the shop was busy.
“Our shop team were going through a normal carrier bag with donations in, and in the bag we had a pottery cat, some books and old bottles, but then the team found a 10-inch shell.
“It was very heavy, which is the thing that really raised the alarm to the team and them thinking we probably need to deal with this.
“It was testament to our staff who dealt with it so calmly and contacted police, who then reached out and brought an explosive ordinance disposal team to the shop where it was detonated.
“We do get some weird and wonderful things in our shops – but we certainly don’t want any more live ammunitions.
“The staff certainly needed some cups of tea after that.”
Siswick said she didn’t believe the donor realized what the item was or that it could potentially be dangerous.
She added: “Ultimately, we think this was a genuine error.
“We’ve heard many a story where people leave things on their mantelpiece and don’t quite realize what they are for a number of years.
“We’re just thankful that any donation that comes in, we’re able to deal with it as quickly as possible.
“We don’t want things like that hanging around, and it was able to be controlled and dealt with.”
A spokesperson for West Mercia Police “Following an unexploded ordnance being handed into police this afternoon, Explosives Ordnance Disposal attended and moved the device to a safe location where they conducted a controlled explosion.
“The cordon has now been lifted. Thank you for your patience.”
They had earlier warned: “We currently have a 30-meter cordon in place following an unexploded ordnance being handed to the police this afternoon.
“The device is currently at the Leek Street car park in the centre of Wem.
“EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) will attend the scene to assess the device and if needed it will be moved to a safe location.
“The public are asked to please stay away from the area.”
