I was forced to call the bomb squad after finding WW1 shells lurking in my Nan's garage

A dutiful grandson was forced to call the bomb squad when he discovered UNEXPLODED WWI SHELLS lurking in his nan's garage. George Cheetham was helping Pam Heritage have a clear out on Saturday [May 16th] in a village near Southampton, Hampshire, ahead of a house move. The pair were in the middle of sorting through his late grandad John Heritage's belongings when they stumbled across two anti-aircraft shells dated 1916 that 'still had tops on'. After picking up the 'really heavy' anti-aircraft shells, a stunned George and his nan decided to call Hampshire Police at 1pm to get them checked out, for fear they may detonate in the garden. After examining and photographing the shells, cops called in the army's bomb squad who x-rayed the devices and, after discovering they were live, carried out a controlled explosion in a nearby field. The 26-year-old said the army contacted farmers to find a suitable location to safely detonate the 2lb shells, which are believed to have belonged to his great-grandad who served in the navy in WWI. The British Army confirmed Hampshire Constabulary requested they attend and the shells were 'safely disposed of by explosive demolition'. The sales worker said he was 'gutted' he couldn't keep the shells but admitted it was better that 'than your nan getting blown up'. George, from Southampton, Hampshire, said: "It's mainly my grandad's stuff that's in there [the garage]. He passed away last year but he was a hoarder so we need to get the garage cleared. "I came across them and I pulled them out and they still had the tops on and were really heavy so me and my nan were like 'sh*t'. I remember him passing me some shells when I was younger, but that was 20-something years ago. "We had all forgotten about them for like 20 years, and Grandad probably forgot about them too. On the bottom of the shells, they're dated. One was '3rd of July 16' and then the other one said '1916' on it." After discovering the shells, George said he and Pam decided to call the police to be checked out. George said: "It was quite funny to be honest, me and my nan were just holding them in the garden. She found it funny. "We were like 'should probably get them checked out' so called the police. They sent a policeman round who came and had a look at them but he had to take photos and send it to the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). "We had to wait for them to come round, a couple of them came out and had to do X-rays on it and some tests. They said there were definitely explosives in the top so they had to find a field to go and blow them up in - because you couldn't really blow it up in the garden. "I was quite gutted to be honest because I would've loved to have kept them but it's better getting rid of them than your nan getting blown up." George shared his find on X but claims he received mixed responses from commenters online. George said: "There's a real divide with the reactions, everyone British was like 'that's so funny'. "But then there were loads of anonymous American accounts that were like 'what the hell are you doing? You're throwing away your family heritage and history.' I'm just there like 'well I'd rather that than one of them go off and blow up my nan'. One wrote: "Similar thing happened to us but with hand grenades glad everyone's okay!" Another commented: "Giving away ur families [sic] collectibles had to be studied tf [sic] u doing idiot." One added: "Wow... what a cool piece of history.... welp time to destroy them and post it on the internet for digital hearts." A Hampshire police spokesperson said: "Police were called at 1.14pm on Saturday, May 16 after two ordnance devices were found. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended and removed the devices." A spokesperson for The British Army said: "We can confirm that an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team from 721 Sqn, 11 EOD&S Regiment RLC, responded on May 16 following a request from Hampshire Constabulary. The EOD Operator identified two 2lb anti-aircraft rounds from WW1, which were safely disposed of by explosive demolition".