Charity shop team's shock after unexploded 10-inch shell is donated - then detonated
A charity shop manager has spoken of her shock after staff took a donation of some books, bottles - and a 10-inch artillery shell.
Bomb squads descended on Wem on Wednesday afternoon to carry out a controlled explosion after an ammunition shell was donated to the town's Severn Hospice store.
The hospice's retail manager Carla Siswick said shocked workers at the shop came across the artillery shell while unpacking a bag of items handed in by a donor.
She told BBC Radio Shropshire: "It was quite an exciting Wednesday, the shop was busy. Our shop team were going through a normal carrier bag with donations in, and in the bag we had a pottery cat, some books and old bottles, but then the team found a 10-inch shell.
"It was very heavy, which is the thing that really raised the alarm to the team and them thinking 'we probably need to deal with this'.
"It was testament to our staff who dealt with it so calmly and contacted police."
Police moved the shell to the Leek Street car park and put a 30-metre cordon in place before the bomb disposal unit arrived.
An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team then carried out a controlled explosion, and the cordon was lifted.
Carla added: "We do get some weird and wonderful things in our shops - but we certainly don't want any more live ammunitions. The staff certainly needed some cups of tea after that.
"Ultimately, we think this was a genuine error. We've heard many a story where people leave things on their mantelpiece and don't quite realise what they are for a number of years."
