A PINVIN man hit a live Second World War shell while digging in his garden.

Dean Warren, aged 29, of Abbey View Road, and his wife, Paula, were moving compost when Mr Warren's spade hit the mortar shell.

Paula, aged 28, said: "Me and my husband were digging in the garden and as we got to ground level his spade hit something.

"We had no idea what it was at first. It was very muddy and rusty and about a foot long but we didn't think it was a bomb because it had two brackets on it and we expected a bomb to be smooth.

"We wanted to know what it was, so it was out of curiosity that we called the police on Monday."

Police told the Warrens that their discovery was an unexploded Second World War bomb and called in the bomb disposal squad, who carried out a controlled explosion in an orchard behind the Warren's house at about 4pm on Monday.

Paula said: "I would have liked to have seen the explosion, just to see what it was like.

"There was a wire sticking out the back and if we had pulled that out we would have set the timer off. It's very unlikely we'll find another one but police told us to take care while digging."

Vicki Davies, of West Mercia Constabulary, said: "The bomb disposal squad carried out a controlled explosion which made a small hole in the ground."