A SHOCKED High Wycombe man made an explosive entrance to his new neighbourhood - after discovering a World War II grenade in the garage of his new home.

Michael Eley, 42, was busy unpacking his belongings on his first day in his new humble abode in Maybrook Gardens yesterday, when he stumbled across the World War II weapon in his garage.

A removal man studied the hand grenade, which still had the pin in it, before he carried the device out of the garage and carefully laid it on the grass outside Mr Eley's front door.

Police and military bomb disposal units raced to the cul-de-sac off Amersham Road, High Wycombe, just before 5pm yesterday.

But after analysing the grenade, bomb experts believed it did not have a detonator and took it away for disposal – but the drama ensured the father-of-one moved in with a bang.

He said: “It was quite a way to make an entrance – my first day here and I find a grenade in the garage of my new home, it was a bit of a shock.

“We were clearing out the garage because it was still full of stuff from the last occupier when all of a sudden we found this grenade.

“One of the removal guys just picked it up, looked at it and said 'that's a World War II grenade'. He then just calmly walked it back across the street to my house and called the police – not a chance I would have done that.

“Next thing we know the police and bomb disposal unit were here - my son was in his element and other children on the street were really excited - but they took it away.

“I guess finding a World War explosive in your house doesn't happen every day.”

Neighbour Kirsten Furey saw the funny side of the saga and welcomed Mr Eley to the neighbourhood. She said: “My kids were really excited when they saw the police cars.

“People were on edge just for a moment but it was fine, it's just the fact it has been sitting in that garage all these years – his first day here and he finds a grenade, quite an entrance.”

Mahtab Darougar, whose home backs on to the garages, said the previous tenants of her property found what was believed to have been a military bunker in the house.

She said: “I just hope we haven't got any more grenades or bombs laying around in here.”