A CHARITY metal detecting event went with a bang – literally – after a live and unstable Second World War grenade was uncovered.

The event on Sunday had been organised by Anton Rotary Club member Mike Bonner to raise money for Andover Young Carers, the club’s charity this year.

It was a huge success with about 100 people turning up to do some metal detecting on a couple of fields at Penton Mewsey when one of the detectors uncovered the grenade.

Mr Bonner said: “One of our Rotarians is ex-Army and he realised that it still had its charge intact. So we called the police and they called out the Royal Logistic Corps’ bomb disposal team.”

The two members of the team said that the grenade was unstable because the TNT had begun to crystallize and a 100m perimeter was formed to keep people away.

The grenade was directly underneath power cables, so the bomb disposal men moved it by hand so that the controlled explosion would not interrupt the power supply.

They then buried it again, laid the detonator, retreated to a safe distance and invited a female PCSO from Andover to set off the controlled explosion, creating a 5ft wide crater.

Within the last few weeks the field had been harrowed and a crop sown.

Mr Bonner added: “The police were absolutely brilliant and the two men from the Royal Logistic Corps kept people informed about what was going on and were happy to talk about their skills.”

The event itself proved to be a great success and raised £1,100 for Andover Young Carers.