Magnet Fisher Pulls Out WWII Grenade From River

A British man who was using a magnet fisher managed to pull out an old hand grenade while searching a river in central England.

Nottinghamshire Police said in a statement that officers were called after a grenade, used by the British Army during the First and Second World Wars and known as the "Mills Bomb," was pulled out from the River Trent, near the Wilford Toll Bridge, at around 8:20 p.m. Saturday, July 3.

The incident was the second time that police had been called to that particular area of the river, following the discovery of an explosive device over the past few weeks.

Police later declared the grenade not to be dangerous as it was "very old and rusty," and it was detonated in a nearby field.

The detonation did not cause any damage or impact the local area and the scene was declared safe at around 10 p.m.

Chief Superintendent Ian Roberts, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "The member of the public who found the grenade did exactly the right thing by calling the police immediately.

"The device was clearly very old and was rusted but we responded quickly to ensure that it could be safely destroyed.

"I'd like to thank the attending police officers and our colleagues from the army for their quick action to dispose of the device with minimal disruption to the public."

In June, police had to cordon off the area around the Wilford Toll Bridge after a fisherman pulled out a suspected unexploded bomb from the River Trent.

The bridge was closed to the public on June 2, as the device was examined by experts.

"The historic artillery shell, which had been in the water for many decades, was pulled from the river in Nottingham by an angler at around 4.20pm this afternoon," a statement from Nottinghamshire Police said at the time.

"Police were called to the Wilford Toll Bridge shortly afterwards and established a 50-metre cordon around the scene.

"The bridge was closed to trams and pedestrians but has now been reopened.

"The shell has been taken away for safe disposal by expert officers."

In April, there was panic over the discovery of what was believed to be a hand grenade in a forest in Germany, which was later revealed to be a sex toy.

A jogger reported finding a bag of what he thought was an explosive device in a forest outside the city of Passau on April 27.

However, bomb squad arrived and inspected the contents and found that the grenade was actually a rubber sex toy.

"An internet search confirmed the suspicion," police said in a statement. "There are actually sex toys in the form of hand grenades."