Workers on a Loughton building site received quite a surprise five years ago this week.

Neighbours were banned from leaving their homes after an unexploded grenade was found on a building site.

Workers in Connaught Avenue, Loughton, were stunned to find the First World War bomb at 10am this morning (April 10).

The bomb was found in the grounds of a four-bedroom detached Edwardian house, which is currently being redeveloped into five flats.

A cordon was put in place as the home was evacuated.

Residents in the street were told that a small grenade had been found and that it was not terrorism related.

Karen Gisborne, of Connaught Avenue, said: "I was leaving my house to take my daughter to work, and I was told by police that we couldn’t take the car unless it was an emergency.

“We were not allowed to walk past the site and we couldn’t drive past it because they didn’t want the ground to shake."

She said her 13-year-old daughter found the relic "exciting."

"She found it more exciting than frightening," the 48-year-old added. "It will be something to tell the kids at school."

At around 1pm the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD’s) Exploded Ordnance Device team arrived on the street and removed the bomb.

By this time most of the builders on the site had gone home, but one who remained said the bomb was found on the ground in a corner of the building yard quite far away from the main house.

Essex Police said in a statement: "The team sent out from Northolt confirmed the ordnance was a number 36 grenade, a World War One era munition. They recovered the device to Northolt for disposal."