Man Walks Into Portland D-day Centre With Suspected Live Grenade

At approximately 12:00 pm Wednesday 20th July, Emergency services responded to reports of an explosive device at The D-Day Museum Portland Dorset.

It is reported that a man walked into the Portland D-Day museum with a WW2 grenade, wishing to donate it to the museum.

Emergency Services were notified and rushed to the scene. A 50m cordon was put in place between Osprey Leisure Centre and Portland Port.

The cordon forced Portland port to become inaccessible, which saw coaches of cruise passengers stranded outside the cordon.

It also forced businesses within the cordon to close and residents unable to go home.

The Royal Naval Explosive Ordinance Department arrived on the scene. The team identified 1 x Grenade HE No5 which was safely removed.

The cordon was finally lifted around 1550.

An army spokeswoman added: “An Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from 621 Sqn, 11 EOD&S Regiment in Portsmouth responded to Admiralty buildings, Castletown on July 20, at the request of Dorset Police. The team identified 1 x Grenade HE No5 which was safely removed.”

A spokesman for Castletown D-Day Centre said: “A World War II British hand grenade was brought into Castletown D-Day Centre by a member of the public as a donation. To be safe we immediately alerted the relevant authorities.