A live box of World War Two grenades was pulled up from the sea bed at Whitstable on Wednesday.

The metal container was pulled up with an anchor around 12.45pm by a boat sailing near the OysterCoast WaterSports centre at Long Beach.

The crew placed it on the foreshore and contacted Kent Police.

Herne Bay Coastguard came out to make an initial assessment, and then, together with Kent Police, set up a cordon around the area and awaited the arrival of an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit.

Thames Coastguard officer Iain Bendry said: "Someone had pulled an auchor up and attached was a metal box.

"They were not too sure what it was, so we tasked our coastguard to go to Whitstable.

"We asked for the army to be deployed, and they came out and confirmed it was a box of nine live World War Two grenades."

The area near the watersports centre was cordoned off and the army arrived at around 2.20pm.

It was decided that it would be too dangerous to explode the grenades on the beach, so they were taken to the quarry next door, where they were buried and detonated.

At 3.30pm, the area was declared safe.

Mr Bendry added: "The Thames Estuary is littered with explosives, although it is not often we get a box of live grenades.

"The Army said they had never seen anything like it."