Drama unfolded at a Derbyshire primary school as children and staff were evacuated following the arrival of bomb disposal experts, prompted by a student’s shocking show-and-tell contribution.
The alarming episode took place at Osmaston CofE Primary School in Ashbourne on Friday, May 16, when a child astonishingly revealed a WW2 grade 5 explosive device during an assembly. Head teacher Jeanette Hart, uncertain about the grenade’s status, prudently secured it behind a stout tree in the school car park.
The emergency services descended swiftly upon the school, with police commending the ‘quick-thinking’ actions of the staff.
Pupils were ushered to safety while both police and military bomb specialists converged on the premises. The army technicians conducted thorough checks and subsequently confirmed that the grenade, an heirloom from the family unwittingly brought in by the pupil without his parents’ knowledge, posed no threat.
Mrs Hart reflected: “It was quite an eventful assembly. It was going fine and there was a boy who brought an old bullet case in, which I knew about, but then his friend produced a hand grenade from his pocket. That, I was not expecting.”, reports the Mirror.
In a BBC interview regarding the extraordinary event, Mrs Hart recounted how she ‘tried to avoid a panic’ upon discovering a pupil with a grenade. She explained: “It looked old and I thought it might be safe but I didn’t want to take the risk. I ended the assembly, took it off him and slowly carried it outside and put it behind a far tree in the car park. I wasn’t 100 percent happy carrying it to be honest.”
She further clarified the situation, saying, “It was entirely innocent,’ adding, ‘I don’t think he ever really knew what it was. We’d been talking about VE Day and he knew it was from the war and just thought it was an interesting thing. His family didn’t know and they were a little taken aback.”
Derbyshire Police later confirmed that army bomb disposal experts had ascertained the grenade’s safety using X-ray technology. Following the alarming occurrence, they advised parents to inspect their children’s school items.
The Matlock, Cromford, Wirksworth and Darley Dale Police Safer Neighbourhood Team shared on Facebook: “We even got to see those [X-ray] images and [were] told a detailed analysis of how there was nothing that would set the grenade off.”
The police post wrapped up with a crucial tip for parents: “Just a word of guidance for parents and guardians – double check what your kids are taking to show-and-tell, especially when they are family heirlooms.”
