POLICE closed part of Macey Street in Torpoint when a family digging up their back garden found what is believed to be a World War I shell and two cannonballs.

The couple were told by police to leave their house with their children and grandchildren for a short while, before being allowed back in at their own risk.

'When we moved in here over 30 years ago and built the garage, we did not have the time or money to do the garden and just left rubble in the corner. Now we are clearing, this is what we have found,' said the homeowner, who did not wish to be named.

After being allowed back into the property, the resident and his family continued to work on the garden, avoiding the shell and cannonballs, while waiting for a bomb disposal team to arrive. The road was opened again within an hour.

A police spokesperson said that they had taken a call at 9.30am on Saturday from a house near the police station: 'Police arriving at the property found that a man had unearthed a shell eight or nine inches long and two or three inches in diameter.

'He was given advice to keep it out of the way. EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) came from Dartmouth and removed the shell.'