Homes cleared in alert over grenade in loft

The bomb squad was called to a house on Garland Drive in the Cross Gates area of the city after a tradesman happened upon the weapon while carrying out work on the property.

Police were contacted at around 3.45pm and a cordon imposed around the street, with people removed from their houses while investigations took place.

A police spokesman said: “We evacuated properties on the street while experts assessed the device.”

Stephen Haley, whose mother-in-law’s home was where the discovery was made, said that the grenade was long-since decommissioned and was clearly of no threat to anyone.

The cordon was later lifted.