Princes Risborough: WW1 shell found in garden by builders

Police quickly shut off Wycombe Road, stopping access into the village, as the bomb disposal squad was called to the scene to remove the shell and safely destroy it.

The builder, Thomas Avery, who found the shell, described it as a “one in a lifetime” experience.

RECAP: Homes evacuated on Wycombe Road as WW1 shell discovered

He also said that if he had not known it was a live shell he would have taken it home as a souvenir.

Thomas said: “We thought it was a pipe or a tree. We were scraping everything back with the digger and as we pulled it back we could see the side of it. 

“It was not a bullet you can fire out of a handheld gun. I Googled it and the first thing it came up with was World War I anti-tank gun and it was literally massive.

“It was a stationary gun that would have been put in placement.

“I looked at and it was too big to be a bullet so it must be a shell of some description so I turned it over to see the back off it.

“I am into my history and wars and that shell apparently, I looked at the initials, was made by Vickers. Vickers isn’t associated with the South of England, it is all up north.

“I didn’t want to drop it just in case it has been sat here for God’s knows how long and it was primer, it was still live. It was not depressed, normally they are dented in. If it’s a dud it will still be dented in.

“It’s literally once in a lifetime thing.

“If I hadn’t realised it wasn’t live I would have put it in my boot and taken it home as a souvenir.”

The owner of the house, Karl Thomas, said: “I saw the photo and it looked like a bullet but then looking closer at it, I thought that isn’t what I think it is, is it?

“I was at work and I got a message saying we found this and I was speechless. 

“At least the builders knew what they were looking at.

“It is such a random thing, all the things  I thought could possibly happen that was not one of them that’s for sure.

“It’s something to talk about this weekend down the pub, ‘guess what happened to me I have these gardeners in and they found a live bomb’.”

Princes Risborough resident David Jenning was shocked to hear of the shell discovery underneath his former home.

His ex-wife’s parents moved to the detached house in 1966 and her uncle built the patio right on top of the war relic, which was found by builders today.

Mr Jenning, who lived in the house himself before moving out over 10 years ago said: “I’m in shock.

“Any of us could have been blown up, the uncle of my ex-wife’s when he was building the patio could have been blown up.

“There is a lot of history in the area and other war bombs have been found too.”

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “Following a road closure in Wycombe Road, Princes Risborough, after the discovery of a WW1 shell, explosive ordnance disposal experts have now removed the item to safety to be destroyed.”