Century-old grenade discovered by relic hunter at family adventure park near Bristol

Someone scanning an adventure and wildlife park in Bristol with their metal detector made an explosive find when they uncovered a hand grenade likely dating back to the First World War.

Staff at the Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park, in Keynsham, were made aware of the explosive on its land by the metal detectorist who was granted permission to ‘relic hunt’ on one of the farm fields. The adventure park confirmed that “police were immediately alerted and the bomb squad arrived to remove it safely with no danger to anyone”.

In the 1950s and 60s, the council used a number of the farm’s fields as a rubbish tip and so park staff have speculated that the grenade could have been “thrown out during a house clearance but it’s unlikely we’ll ever know.” They added that they were unsure what the photos they were presented with actually showed, initially believing they were “being sent a photo of an unearthed sweet potato”.