Emergency services in Darwen give update after grenade found in town centre

Police have given an update after being forced to close a number of roads in central Darwen on Saturday after reports emerged that a grenade has been found.

Streets in the East Lancashire town of Darwen were shut off for around an hour after reports emerged that a grenade had been found by a member of the public.

Police released a statement saying that they closed off Croft Street in the town due to an incident at Market Hall.

They have now released a further statement today.

A spokersperson for Blackburn and Darwen Police said: “Yesterday we told you about some road closures due to an incident at Market Hall, Darwen.

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“At around 1:40pm yesterday (Saturday 27th April) a member of the public approached one of our officers on duty, to make them aware of an item they were concerned about.

“The item – a suspected World War II grenade detonator – had been in the family for a number of years and the informant had recently been advised to seek police advice on its safety.”

The spokesperson added that officers, accompanied by the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team attended, assessed the item and removed it to ensure there was no wider threat to the public.

“We have now lifted the cordons we had in place whilst we investigated and want to thank the public for their cooperation.

“These instances can be potentially dangerous, as well as resource intensive for our response officers so whilst we appreciate the inconvenience it causes, we want to make sure it's handled safely and efficiently.”