A FATHER and son have discovered a German aircraft cannon shell while clearing out their loft.

James ‘Jimmy’ Strathdee was helping his son tidy the loft of his new home in Portland Terrace, Ripple, near Deal, when they came across the Second World War ammunition.

He said: “We were clearing out the loft space when we saw the brickwork was damaged. It looked like someone had fallen through the roof.

“My son went to have a look and noticed a shell lodged into the chimney breast.”

Mr Strathdee, an ex-Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Marines, worked in weapons so he was able to identify the find.

He said: “After a clean it was a recognisable 20mm cannon shell used by the Germans. We moved it to the garden with care as it could have been very fragile after being lodged for 65 years”.

With the shell placed in the garden Mr Strathdee called the police. An ammunition technical officer came to the house to safely dispose of the bomb.

Villagers in Ripple told the Mercury they remembered an attack by German aircraft during the Second World War which damaged several houses and injured one of the inhabitants of Portland Terrace.

It is believed that the enemy used to fire off their surplus rounds before crossing back over the Channel to save weight and fuel.