Police bomb disposal teams are called after ‘WWII shell was left out with the rubbish by elderly resident’ in Manchester
- A pensioner, 82, from Swinton, Greater Manchester spotted a WW2-era bomb
- She left it out by her wheelie bins before her family alerted emergency services
- Police, firefighters and bomb disposal experts this morning raced to her house
A woman, 82, sparked an emergency evacuation after she spotted a Second World War-era bomb in a bin bag full of rubble and concrete in the shed of her home in Swinton, Greater Manchester.
The pensioner saw the old mortar shell three weeks ago before taking it out and leaving it by her wheelie bins.
But police, firefighters and and bomb disposal experts today raced to her house after a concerned neighbour saw it while helping the old woman return her bins to her driveway on Friday after bin collection day.
An 82-year-old woman spotted an old Second World War-era bomb in a bin bag in the shed of her home and placed it by her wheelie bins
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The neighbour advised her to move the piece of ordnance to her back garden.
The woman's daughter said family members grew concerned and went on to alert the emergency services after they looked up the shell online.
The fire service said a small number of residents were evacuated and a larger number told to stay indoors and keep their doors and windows shut.
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Chester was subsequently scrambled.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said experts inspected the ordnance and took it away without a controlled explosion taking place.
It was declared to be safe. The woman's daughter said her mother didn't want to put it in her wheelie bin.
Police, firefighters and and bomb disposal experts rushed over to the woman's house this morning
She said: 'The police were wonderful. They were very professional and it was declared safe.
'It wasn't live, but we all had to go through the process. It was in a bin bag with a load of rubble and concrete in it left by the former owner in the shed.'
The bag is understood to have been left there by the previous owner.
In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: 'Police were called at around 11.30am today, (Sunday 31 October), following reports of a suspicious object on Moss Lane in Swinton, Manchester.
'A cordon was put in place as a safety precaution and a number of residential buildings were evacuated.
The fire service said a small number of residents were evacuated and a larger number told to stay indoors and keep their doors and windows shut
'The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was notified and after assessing the item, declared it safe.'
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a Second World War-era bomb was discovered.
They said residents told to evacuate were asked to do so calmly and follow the instructions of the emergency services.
Residents were allowed back into their homes - and road closures were lifted at around 3pm.
In a separate incident, bomb disposal officers were also called to reports a suspected grenade had been found by a member of the public in a canal in Trafford.
