Kids find 'old club' while litter picking in stream and it turns out to be a bomb

Kids find 'old club' while litter picking in stream and it turns out to be a bomb Amelia Appleyard, 10, Rosie Appleyard, seven, Liam Green, eight, and Ryan Green, six, were left stunned when they pulled a rusty military bomb from a beck in Leeds, West Yorks., during a litter pick Four children got the fright of their lives when a litter pick took a dramatic turn – after they hauled a rusty military bomb from a stream. Amelia Appleyard, 10, Rosie Appleyard, seven, Liam Green, eight, and Ryan Green, six, had been clearing rubbish from a beck in Leeds, West Yorks. , when they stumbled across the heavily corroded device. Liam initially thought the bizarre find looked like an "old club" and began waving it around – before his cousins' mum realised it could be something far more sinister. Amelia and Rosie's mum, Shauna, 34, said: "Liam pulled something out and he said look at this, it looks like an old club. "I thought, that looks a little bit suspicious, so I told him to hold that still because he'd been swinging it around." The four primary school pupils had set out to clean up the waterway, expecting to find little more than discarded plastic bags and bottles. Shauna, who works in a school, took the mysterious object from Liam and showed it to the children's granddad. She placed it to one side as the youngsters carried on with their clean-up – but couldn't shake the nagging feeling that they may have unearthed something truly dangerous. She said: "I put it to the side and they pulled out more things, but it just wouldn't leave my mind." Mum-of-two Shauna carried out a Google reverse image search – and was alarmed when every result suggested the rusty object could be a military bomb. She said: "Every angle I took of this object, it kept saying it was a potential military bomb. "It didn't come up with any other explanation of what it could be." With no way of determining whether the device was still active, the family contacted the police. Officers swiftly arrived and inspected the object before confirming it appeared to be an old military training bomb. Shauna said: "I was shocked and bewildered. "Police were asking us all to stay back - that's when I knew it was as serious as I'd catastrophised in my head." To everybody's relief, it had already been detonated. However, the heavily corroded and rusty relic was still not safe for the children to handle. Rather than being unsettled by their remarkable find, Amelia, Rosie, Liam and Ryan were absolutely delighted – and peppered officers with questions about their discovery. Shauna praised the police for taking the time to fully explain what the children had unearthed. She said: "They were absolutely brilliant and they took the time to explain it to the children, showing them how they could see it had already been detonated. "They were really kind and I think it's really good for the children to see that side of the police." The explosive discovery has since become the undisputed highlight of the youngsters' school holidays – even overshadowing an upcoming family trip overseas. Shauna said: "It's been the highlight of the summer. "We're going to France next week and we might as well cancel because I think we've topped the excitement of the holidays. "They've been excited beyond words. They've absolutely loved it."