Buckingham: WW2 grenade found in river detonated in controlled explosion

A suspected World War Two device found in a river has been detonated by bomb disposal experts.

Thames Valley Police said a member of public found an old grenade in the River Great Ouse near Station Road in Buckingham on Sunday.

"It was believed to have been from the Second World War and had likely been in the river since then," the force said.

It added that Explosive Ordnance Disposal operators conducted a controlled explosion in a nearby field.

"There was no risk to the wider public and we would like to thank the public for their understanding while we cordoned off a section of Chandos Park," a police spokesman said.

"A special thanks to the owners of the field who allowed us to use their land (one of them even got to press the button)."

Trevor Penny from Thame Magnet Fishing, who was with the group that found the device, said they knew it was a grenade immediately.

"It still had the pin and plug in it, so [it was] live," he said.

He added that the person who pulled it out of the river cordoned the area off and members of the group stood at either end of the footpath to stop people going near it.

"We had to deal with it appropriately," he said.

"[The] police and bomb disposal arrived very quickly and were very efficient in dealing with it."

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