Kids find military bomb while cleaning up local stream

By Jennifer Cartwright and James Connolly

Four youngsters got the shock of their lives when they went on a litter pick - and pulled up a rusty military bomb from a stream.

Amelia Appleyard, 10, Rosie Appleyard, 7, Liam Green, 8, and Ryan Green, 6, had been clearing rubbish from a beck in Leeds, West Yorks., when they stumbled across the heavily corroded bomb.

Liam initially thought the bizarre find looked like an "old club" and began waving it around - before his cousins' mom realized it could be something far more dangerous.

Amelia and Rosie's mom, Shauna, 34, said: "Liam pulled something out and he said look at this, it looks like an old club.

"I thought, that looks a little bit suspicious, so I told him to hold that still because he'd been swinging it around."

The four primary school kids had decided to clean up the waterway, expecting to find little more than discarded plastic bags and bottles.

Shauna, who works in a school, took the mystery object from Liam and showed it to the children's granddad.

She placed it to one side as the youngsters continued their clean-up - but could not shake the fear that they might have unearthed something dangerous.

She said: "I put it to the side and they pulled out more things, but it just wouldn't leave my mind."

Mom-of-two Shauna carried out a Google reverse image search - and was alarmed when every result suggested the rusty object could be a military bomb.

She said: "Every angle I took of this object, it kept saying it was a potential military bomb.

"It didn't come up with any other explanation of what it could be."

With no way of knowing whether the device was still live, the family called police.

Officers quickly arrived and examined the object before confirming it appeared to be an old military training bomb.

Shauna said: "I was shocked and bewildered.

"Police were asking us all to stay back - that's when I knew it was as serious as I'd catastrophized in my head."

To everyone's relief, it had already been detonated.

But the badly corroded and rusty relic was still not safe for the children to handle.

Rather than being shaken by their extraordinary discovery, Amelia, Rosie, Liam and Ryan were thrilled - and bombarded officers with questions about their find.

Shauna praised the police for taking the time to explain exactly what the children had discovered.

She said: "They were absolutely brilliant and they took the time to explain it to the children, showing them how they could see it had already been detonated.

"They were really kind and I think it's really good for the children to see that side of the police."

The bombshell discovery has now become the undisputed high point of the youngsters' school holidays - even eclipsing an upcoming family trip abroad.

Shauna said: "It's been the highlight of the summer.

"We're going to France next week and we might as well cancel because I think we've topped the excitement of the holidays.

"They've been excited beyond words. They've absolutely loved it."