Member of the public ‘donates’ hand grenade to D-Day museum sparking urgent evacuation

by

Member of the public ‘donates’ hand grenade to D-Day museum sparking urgent evacuation and police cordon of the area after concerned employee raised the alarm

  • Member of staff raised alarm at Castletown D-Day Centre in Dorset yesterday 
  • Police emptied building along with neighbouring properties and put up cordon  
  • Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called in to deal with the grenade 

By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A D-Day museum had to be evacuated after a member of the public brought in a hand grenade as a ‘donation’.

A member of staff at the Castletown D-Day Centre on Portland, Dorset, raised the alarm at 12.09pm yesterday after being presented with the device.

Police emptied the building along with neighbouring properties and threw up a 50-metre cordon zone causing a huge tailback of lorries on their way to the port.

Road closures were then lifted two hours and 40 minutes later after the Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended. 

A member of staff at the Castletown D-Day Centre on Portland, Dorset, raised the alarm at 12.09pm yesterday after being presented with the device. Pictured: A police cordon in place around the area 

Police emptied the building along with neighbouring properties and threw up a 50-metre cordon zone causing a huge tailback of lorries on their way to the port

Police emptied the building along with neighbouring properties and threw up a 50-metre cordon zone causing a huge tailback of lorries on their way to the port

One local resident, who wished not to be named, said: 'I was just bringing back the children from their last day at school and, yeah, it's not something you hear about everyday'

One local resident, who wished not to be named, said: ‘I was just bringing back the children from their last day at school and, yeah, it’s not something you hear about everyday’ 

Visitors were ‘filled with terror’ as they hurriedly evacuated the building.

One local resident, who wished not to be named, said: ‘I was just bringing back the children from their last day at school and, yeah, it’s not something you hear about everyday.’

The Mayor of Portland, Pete Roper, said the decision to hand it in ‘beggared belief’. 

He said: ‘I can’t understand the thought process. It beggars belief.

‘The grenade should have been left alone and the police should have been called as soon as it was discovered.’

Police emptied the building along with neighbouring properties and threw up a 50-metre cordon zone causing a huge tailback of lorries on their way to the port

Police emptied the building along with neighbouring properties and threw up a 50-metre cordon zone causing a huge tailback of lorries on their way to the port

The Mayor of Portland, Pete Roper, said the decision to hand it in 'beggared belief'. He said: 'I can't understand the thought process. It beggars belief. 'The grenade should have been left alone and the police should have been called as soon as it was discovered'

The Mayor of Portland, Pete Roper, said the decision to hand it in ‘beggared belief’. He said: ‘I can’t understand the thought process. It beggars belief. ‘The grenade should have been left alone and the police should have been called as soon as it was discovered’

He added that lorries and coaches headed for the ferry port had to be diverted.

A spokesman for the museum said: ‘A World War Two British hand grenade was brought into Castletown D-Day Centre by a member of the public as a donation.

‘To be safe we immediately alerted the relevant authorities, who took safety precautions before the grenade was safely taken away by the Royal Naval Explosive Ordnance Department to be dealt with in a controlled manner.

‘We sometimes receive donations of medals, uniforms and alike but do always advise people to report any potentially hazardous items to the police rather than bring them into us, even if they believe the item to be safe.’

Dorset Police has been contacted for comment.