A bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion after a stash of Second World War weapons were found in a flat in Braintree.

The army was called in by police when contractors clearing a house after an eviction in Bailey Bridge Road found a grenade in a cupboard in the downstairs flat.

A search of the house on Thursday, August 28, uncovered two pistols, a grenade, a two inch mortar and a pair of 3kg incendiary bombs.

The items were taken to farmland near Boleyn Avenue and destroyed in a controlled explosion.

An Essex Police spokesman said a 74 year old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing explosives and bailed until September 30.

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