just found this grenade in my garden

[Desertrat1921]

Ah the African flymo.

[Bill T]

ehh, let it grow.....its just a "Grenadus explosivus" flower. Imagine using a tiller (not Neds) in that garden!?

[Wagriff]

Since it had no bottom plug and was empty, do you get it back? I don't imagine they were able to detonate an empty grenade...

[Spitace41]

Since it had no bottom plug and was empty, do you get it back? I don't imagine they were able to detonate an empty grenade...

With a Mills, i'm pretty sure that it can still be live an kicking with or without the base plug so I wouldn't read to much into that myself, just to be on the safe side. Plus knowing the hype such things cause in Britain, I would imagine the chances of getting it back would be pretty slim, even if it was safe....... unfortunately.

[Adrian]

I bet the neighbours will be living off this for weeks! The police and bomb squad all in one day! Fantastic!

Out of interest, where in Soton are you as it's my home town and most of my family are still there? PM me if you don't want the whole world to know.

[Panzer trooper]

Just an update on the grenade the local papers have been round to do a story on the finding I will post pictures when its inbthe paper.

[LizardKing]

You aren't dead and you will become famous! You deserve a medal!!!!
All jokes aside, i'm glad that story ended well!

[m3bobby]

Just to add, although its all been covered. But for the benefit of others who may read this, Once you've confirmed the item is UXO, leave it alone.

Use the 4 C's Confirm, Clear, Cordon and Control

CONFIRM - Confirm if the item is UXO, this could be just your opinion and that is all that's needed. It may turn out to be rubbish but if you believe it is genuine, that's all the confirmation you need to carry on to the next C.

CLEAR - Clear the area, in the case of a hand grenade, 200 meters of open ground, buildings may reduce the safety distance required but not always as windows, doors etc could increase fragmentation hazards.

CORDON - Cordon the cleared area to prevent people entering the danger area, you can use others already cleared from the area to guard routes. Obviously you can only do the best you can with what you have at hand.

CONTROL - Control entry to the area and set up a ICP (incident control point), this would be a safe place where the Police, Fire service, Ambulance, EOD etc can position them selves. The person in control doesn't necessarily need to be the person who confirmed the Item as UXO, but the person who did, needs to be at the ICP so that the relevant people can talk to them directly (Usually the ATO or BDO)

Normally a member of the public would never cover all of the 4 C's as the Police would usually arrive and take over at the CORDON phase, but if you know what to do then it will make things so much easier.

You can also apply the 4 C's to almost any hazard you come across, the use of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) in public areas is becoming a real threat, a chemical spill, a fire, all Hazards where knowing what to do can save lives and save time.

Lastly, its always good to let people know what is going on, people react better when they are told a reason why they can or can't do something.

[Panzer trooper]

Just thought I would post the bit about the grenade that got put in the paper.

[tailor marc]

Unreal!! Very glad you all are ok!!!