Bomb disposal teams were called to a Whitstable house following the discovery of suspicious packages and chemicals.

Army experts examined materials found in the garage of a house in Ham Shades Lane on Friday morning.

Ironically, the property was owned by a former army bomb disposal expert, Maj George Fletcher.

Maj Fletcher died last November, aged 85. In 1969, he was awarded the George Medal for bravery. He led a team who successfully defused an unexploded second world war parachute mine buried under a building site in Camden.

Elizabeth Richardson, who has been clearing out the house of her late father, found chemicals used in bomb disposal around 9am.

Mrs Richardson said: "We found the chemicals in a box and thought that we better phone the police just to be on the safe side."

Police spokesman Amanda Wills confirmed bomb disposal experts from Tilbury in Essex were called out as a precaution.

She said: "Following their assessments, it appears the items were an obsolete detonator and a diffuser used in the second world war.

"No controlled explosions were necessary and the devices were taken away from the scene for further examination."

The army bomb disposal team left the property shortly after noon.