GARDENERS who discovered an unexploded bomb in a resident's garden used a mobile app to reveal its identity.

Landscape gardeners Paul Probert and James Dobson were working at a property on Stephenson Road in Barbourne on Thursday morning (August 15) when they made a surprising discovery.

Mr Probert, who lives in Droitwich, said: "I thought it was a bit of metal to start with, then thought it looked like a coke bottle.

"But then I saw the sharper tip of it and thought 'hang on'.

Mr Dobson added: "I was a bit subdued and confused when we first saw it, and I don't think it really sank in.

"We used Google Lens on it and the app said it was a Second World War bomb - it was bizarre."

Mr Dobson and Mr Probert admitted it was definitely the strangest discovery they have made whilst gardening. (Image: Paul Probert)

For both men, it was amongst the strangest starts to a working day they had experienced. With the Google Lens app, the image recognition technology is able to identify objects, plants, animals, and more.

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Mr Probert said: "It was a strange one - I always wondered if I might come across something like this one day, but never thought it would actually happen."

Mr Dobson, who's from Worcester, explained: "It's definitely the strangest thing I have found in someone's garden. Usually it's the odd broken bone or piece of pottery."

West Mercia Police arrived at Stephenson Road by 9.30am, setting up a 100m cordon around the property involved.

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team arrived to assess the device, which Mr Probert said measured at approximately eight inches in length and three inches in diameter.

Mr Probert said: "The EOD told us they think there were 150lbs of explosives in it, and they believe it was French made and likely fired out of a cannon.

"It was only around six inches under the surface, so it makes me think what else could be in the garden."

Mr Dobson said: "There was an element of fear there when we found it, because we had moved it around and didn't know what to expect.

"The police and EOD reacted quickly though, and did a great job."

West Mercia Police confirmed that the EOD team transported the device to a safe location to carry out a controlled explosion.