Stash of 80 World War II grenades found on building site: Bomb disposal experts called in to destroy cache of anti-tank weapons

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A stash of about 80 grenades dating back to the Second World War was found on a building site in East Sussex yesterday.

The explosives were discovered by workmen on the site in Eastbourne and are thought to have been phosphorus incendiary grenades created as improvised anti-tank weapons at a time when Britain was facing a Nazi invasion following the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

The grenades, marked AW Bomb 1940, were made by chemical company Albright & Wilson in the form of bottles filled with an incendiary liquid.

A stash of about 80 grenades dating back to the Second World War was found on a building site on this road in Eastbourne

Police revealed that one or two of the grenades had exploded after they were discovered, sending up a sheet of flame, but that no one was hurt.

Bomb disposal experts, from Folkestone in Kent, later carried out a controlled explosion to destroy the remaining cache of grenades.

A police spokesman said: 'During this activity the A2021 King's Drive was closed to pedestrians and traffic between its junction with King's Avenue and the Rodmill roundabout outside Eastbourne District General Hospital.

'Local householders were warned to expect the explosion by police community support officers and council workers knocked on doors beforehand.'

They are thought to have been phosphorus incendiary grenades created as improvised anti-tank weapons at a time when Britain was facing a Nazi invasion following the Dunkirk evacuation (pictured) in 1940