‘Anti-climax’ as bomb squad tell man to just throw find in skip (From This is Hampshire)

‘Anti-climax’ as bomb squad tell man to just throw find in skip

7:56am Friday 12th March 2010

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THIS is the mystery object that sparked a full-scale bomb alert in a Hampshire village.

Homes were evacuated and other residents warned to stay indoors after it was unearthed in the back garden of a seven-bedroom house.

Two police officers stood guard outside the property yesterday while bomb disposal experts to examined the object.

The incident turned out to be a false alarm.

Mike Browning and two of his sons, Neil and Tony, were building a new patio at their home in Lower Ashley Road, Ashley, near New Milton, when they found a heavy metal sphere about 4in in diameter.

Mike, who runs Browning Building Services, said: “We joked that it was a bomb.

“Then Neil went on the Internet and did some research into unexploded devices. He came across a photograph of something that looked remarkably similar to what we’d dug up.”

Three houses were evacuated amid fears that the object might be a small mine from the First World War.

However, it was examined by a two-man team from the Royal Logistics Corps and found to be harmless. One of the soldiers told the family: “Whatever it is it’s not ammunition – just chuck it in a skip.”

Mike, 57, commented: “It’s a bit of an anti-climax but I’d rather look stupid than get blown up.”

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