The center of Lancashire was placed under lockdown on Saturday, with British military bomb disposal experts forced to remove and destroy the grenade.
It is understood members of the public have donated items, including hand grenades, to the Darwen Heritage Center.
Emergency services were called to Railway Road at around 2pm and police cordoned off large areas of the town center while bomb disposal experts worked.
The British military said the grenade was then removed from the area and destroyed by a team from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Regiment RLC, a specialist unit responsible for disposing of improvised explosive devices and conventional munitions.
A Ministry of Defense spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an Army bomb disposal team was called in response to a request from Lancashire Police.”
“The items were safely moved to a safe distance and destroyed by demolition.”
A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said earlier: “We are at the scene of an incident at Market Hall in Darwen. Officers are at the scene and a cordon is in place.
“We are asking people to avoid the area at this time and will provide further updates.”
According to the LancsLive website, customers at the Bridgwater pub were told to stay inside while the cordon was in place and the monthly artisan market in the town center was cancelled. report.
One person wrote to X: “It appears that Darwen town center has been sealed off and the unexploded grenade was innocently handed over to the heritage centre. The pin was still stuck in and police and bomb disposal contractors will be required to remove it. There was a need for police and bomb disposal vehicles everywhere in the town centre.”
The incident comes three days after a hand grenade believed to be from World War II was discovered in Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire, and a controlled explosion was carried out.
Technicians took the device to Gedling Country Park, where a controlled explosion was carried out.
In December, the Guardian reported that a couple in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, had accidentally kept a live bomb as a garden decoration.
The missile, believed to be from the late 19th century, was located outside the home of Sian and Geoffrey Edwards and was detonated by a disposal team.
