Live grenade found at Walsall Arboretum as trees are planted
Being evacuated from your home is not the kind of surprise you expect on your birthday. But it is exactly what happened to Jackie Cocken after her husband Michael found a live grenade at the bottom of their garden while doing some digging.
The retired teachers were preparing to plant a memorial tree at Walsall Arboretum, which sits at their rear of their property in The Crescent, and had began digging when they discovered the explosive.
They were forced to leave their home for three hours while a bomb disposal team from the Royal Logistics Corp inspected the device.
Controlled explosion as old hand grenade found in Walsall
An ambulance was also parked outside, along with two police cars on each end of the cordon between Broadway North and Sutton Road. A controlled explosion was carried out by the team just before 2pm following the discovery at around 10.45am.
Mrs Cocken, who is chairman of Walsall Tree Wardens, said: "I don't think I shall forget this birthday in a hurry. It has been a very interesting day.
"Michael and I started the morning with the intention of planting a memorial tree with our friend Jo Lester, who is chairman of the Walsall Arboretum User Group.
"Over the last three years, we have planted thousands of trees in the arboretum and have never discovered anything like this.
"Michael began digging and that was when he found the hand grenade and brought it into our garden."
Mr Cocken, who used to work as a teacher at St Thomas More Catholic School in Willenhall, said he did not want to leave the explosive in the arboretum because he was worried dog walkers may find it.
He added: "I thought the sensible thing to do would be to move it because a lot of people use the arboretum.
"A ranger confirmed that it was a hand grenade and the next thing I knew, the bomb squad arrived.
"We were evacuated for three hours and buses were re-routed.
"We will have to plant the tree another time but I have already been thinking of names for it. I think Grenadine is the best choice," the retired teacher added.
Kam Chana, a 22-year-old assistant at the McColls shop in Broadway North nearby, spoke of her shock at seeing the emergency services there when she arrived at work.
She said: "I got to work and I heard all the police sirens and saw the flashing lights.
"I thought it was something serious maybe a raid.
"The police blocked off the road – it was quite scary," she added.
