A hand grenade fished out of the River Medway by an angler has been blown up by bomb disposal teams.

There was a huge police presence throughout Barming and Fant last night following reports of a grenade being found in the river and taken to a nearby house.

It is believed the fisherman who pulled the explosive device out of the Medway took it to an address in Whitmore Street without realising what it was until it was cleaned up.

Officers arrived at around 4.15pm and sealed off part of Upper Fant Road and Whitmore Street as they prepared for bomb disposal experts to turn up.

Dan Rose, who lives in Upper Fant Road, didn't hear anything but noticed multiple police cars in his street when he opened his door.

He said: "The cordon was started at at the bottom of Charlton Street and it went down to the end of the road.

"There was a PCSO and she was letting residents through and warning people what was going on.

"Three police cars were there and there was around three police officers there too.

"I saw the bomb disposal van and it was led off by police, I'm guessing to take the grenade to the field."

The grenade is thought to have been carefully transported to fields close to St Margaret's Church in Barming and blown up during a controlled explosion.

Around half a dozen police cars were seen along Tonbridge Road parked up as the explosion took place.

The bang from the blast could be heard across the entire village at around 7.30pm.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "Kent Police was called at 4.15pm yesterday following a report that a man found an unexploded wartime grenade in the river at Tovil, Maidstone, and had taken it to an address in Whitmore Street.

"Officers went to the premises and the road was closed to traffic as a precaution.

"A Ministry of Defence bomb disposal team also attended and the grenade was taken to a field near Teston where it was destroyed in a controlled explosion at 7.45pm."

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