This is the moment a WW1 grenade exploded after being fished out of a canal in Lancashire

The dramatic discovery was made in the Leeds Liverpool Canal near Bank Bridge at around 4pm yesterday (July 4).

Emergency road closures were put in place, with the busy A59 closed in both directions during evening rush hour.

The canal towpath was cordoned off and the immediate vicinity evacuated, with the public being warned to stay away from the area.

Shortly after 5pm, the armed forces' bomb disposal team arrived at the scene to assess the device.

The EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) concluded that the grenade was a risk and safely detonated the weapon in a nearby hay field.

Magnet fisherman Rob Trowler and Gareth Thomas, from Ormskirk, said they immediately alerted police after making the discovery.

Rob said: "I was 50/50 on whether it was a grenade until I took it off my magnet and could see a pattern.

"It took me about 10 seconds to work out it was a grenade but I still wasn't certain.

"But we had no idea how dangerous it could be until the bomb disposal team showed up in their bomb suits.

"It's definitely the strangest thing I've found."

The A59 was reopened around two hours later, after the bomb had safely been detonated.