A young dad digging in his garden got more than he bargained for when he unearthed a live mortar shell from the Second World War.
It was not the most welcome birthday present for Tyrone Innswood, from Gillingham, who had celebrated his 26th birthday just the day before.
The mortar shell Tyrone Innswood found in his Gillingham garden
It could easily have been his last, after he brought his spade down into the ground and heard a sharp metallic clang.
Tyrone said: “We’ve only been here about 10 months and I was trying to level the garden ready to put up a garden shed.
“When I heard the noise, I thought, ‘What’s that?’ but I kept on digging until I had unearthed it.
“Even then, I didn’t recognise what it was, but carried it into the house to show a friend who was visiting.
“My friend said: ‘That’s a shell! Put it back in the garden quick and call the police,’ which I did.”
Tyrone Innswood, from Gillingham, did not expect to find a live mortar shell in his garden
Officers arrived and, having confirmed the object was a mortar shell, they called the Bomb Disposal Squad.
Tyronne, who lives with his wife Altinette and two sons, said: “They told us to wait out the front of the buildings, but we were already doing that, and I had also gone to our neighbours to alert them.”
The Army arrived about an hour later, and removed the device in a secure container for safe disposal elsewhere.
Originally from Jamaica, Tyrone works as a refuse collector for Medway Norse.
He still plans to keep digging and put up his shed, but added: “I will know to be more careful another time.”
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