Grenade bought for £51 blown up by bomb squad

The Hungarian stick grenade, bought online for £51, was supposed to have been decommissioned, but appeared to still have explosive powder inside

A collector who bought a grenade online for £51 has had it blown up in a field by the bomb squad.

The World War Two-era Hungarian stick grenade bought by Kallum Williams was advertised as decommissioned.

But when it arrived device seemed to still have explosive powder inside and he called the police, waiting up all night for an officer to arrive.

Kallum, 23, from Llansantffraid, Powys, who collects decommissioned military weapons, said it should have had holes in it where the powder had been removed: "It felt like a salt shaker."

"We were too nervous to sleep," said Kallum, explaining how police cordoned off the area before taking the device to a farmer's field.

An X-ray by an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team suggested there was powder inside and the grenade was detonated.

"We heard the explosion," said Kallum, who has since been in touch with the supplier.

He said they claimed the grenade had sand inside, but the EOD team found no signs it had ever been opened.

Kallum said he was upset about disturbing his neighbours and wanted to reassure them that he has nothing in his collection that can put them at risk.

He also urged other collectors to check their decommissioned weapons.

Dyfed-Powys Police said it responded to a call over the suspicion that it was "a live military grenade in his possession".

"Officers attended with an explosive ordnance disposal team and the device – a small inert hand grenade – was destroyed in a controlled manner."