UPDATED: Unexploded hand grenade was found just yards from offices of financial services company

The hand grenade was discovered by a groundsman while he was digging on the verge of a car park on the Churchlands Estate, a 70-acre property in Northamptonshire owned by Philip English, chairman of Philip T English International Financial Services Limited.

A witness said: “I think the groundsman self identified the grenade as being from the Second World War. The pin wasn’t in and the handle was pressed down the weight of the ground.”

“It was centimetres beneath the surface.”

The groundsman bravely took it upon himself to move the grenade to a field off Appletree Road, further away from the office building and also incidentally home to Mr English’s herd of prime Hereford cattle.

Police were contacted and eight employees were evacuated from the office building.

“The police were there in five minutes,” the witness said. “They cordoned off the area and the workers had to move their cars.

“When the bomb disposal unit was called they decided to set up an extended exclusion zone.

“It was a bit surreal really. Someone must have been on the phone to the police saying they had dug up a hand grenade. It isn’t your every day event.”

Police officer James Reid attended the scene. He tweeted: “MOD lost a grenade 70+ years, found by farmer in field , now waiting for #hurtlocker to deal, exclusion zone in place”.

The grenade was believed to have been made safe in a controlled explosion at 8pm.