Live grenade found in city park (From Chelmsford Weekly News)

Live grenade found in city park

1:16pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in News

POLICE have appealed for witnesses after an unexploded live hand grenade was found in Chelmsford’s Admirals Park.

The lethal weapon was found on the grass in the park shortly before 2pm on Thursday, February 21.

It was discovered by a council employee who called the police. Cordons were put in place as the MOD’s expert Explosive Ordnance Disposal team investigated.

They confirmed the device was live and carried out a controlled explosion to make it safe.

Insp Cheryl Hayes, of Essex Police, said: "It would appear that an attempt had been made to set off the grenade but that it had failed to detonate.

“It was discovered by a council employee, lying approximately 10ft away from a pathway in the park.

"We do not believe the device had been there for a long time as it was easily spotted from the path and would have aroused any passer-by’s suspicions.

"It is obviously very fortunate that the device did not explode as if it had detonated then clearly there would have been a danger to anyone who may have been at the location – including the person who tried to set it off.”

She added the exact type of grenade could not be confirmed because it was live and could not be examined prior to the EOD carrying out a controlled explosion.

Insp Hayes added: "At this point in time we don’t know where this grenade came from.

"But this appears to be an isolated occurence and we have no knowledge of any similar incidents in Essex, nor do we have any information on any thefts of such items.

"We do not believe there is any on-going risk to the public, but we obviously want to trace the person or persons who were involved in this incident as soon as possible.”

Call Essex Police at Chelmsford on 101.