Bomb squad called to Saltburn beach after Leeds schoolboy finds World War I hand grenade

Azaan Jamil, 14, from Horsforth, was visiting Saltburn-by-the-Sea with his family on Sunday, September 13 when he found what he thought was a rock.

Thankfully the clued-up teenager, who has been an Army Cadet for two years, realised what he had found and alerted his mum and grandad.

They quickly phoned emergency services.

Azzan's mum told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "He was digging for fossils and was whacking what looked like a big rock.

"It was encased in sand but a big chip flew off and luckily Azaan quickly noticed what it was.

"The police came within 10 minutes of us reporting it and after looking at the grenade, they radioed back for more officers.

"We knew what it could be and the police were trying to reassure us that it wasn't live but they looked worried and concerned.

"Once they put up the 100 metre cordon and wouldn't let people walk past because it could be live, the reality of the situation did start to send shivers down my spine."

Cleveland Police put a cordon in place in the Cat Nab area of the seafront and also closed several roads around the area.

Officers put out an appeal warning people not to "be tempted" to go to the area to see what was happening.

Bomb disposal officers then moved the grenade to the other side of the beach, near the cliffs, and detonated it.

Azzan's mum said: "The noise was so loud. I've never felt or seen anything like it in my life.

"It flew up a few metres high in the sky. It was crazy."

She added: "When I home and sat down and thought about what could have happened - we were literally a couple of steps away from a bomb, my son was sitting with it between his legs banging it with a club hammer.

"Out of all the things you wouldn't expect to find a grenade on a beach

"If he hadn't known how to spot something like that, we might not have been here today.

"Someone was watching over us.

"It was scary but Azaan is so proud and all of his friends have told him he did a great job finding it.

"He's saved lives."

Cleveland Police confirmed at 4.45pm on Sunday, September 13 that the grenade had been destroyed.

A spokesman said: "The incident at Saltburn has been brought to a safe conclusion, the old hand grenade has been destroyed by the explosive ordnance disposal team and the area is now open.

"We would like to thank everyone for their patience during this incident."