Police destroy First World War-era hand grenade found in potato shipment

Explosive, believed to be of German origin, discovered at food-processing factory

A First World War-era hand grenade was destroyed by police after it was discovered in a shipment of potatoes.

The explosive, thought to be of German origin, was found at a food-processing plant in the city of Tseung Kwan O, in Hong Kong, on Saturday.

Police said bomb disposal experts detonated the 2.2lb device at the Tseung Kwan O industrial estate after it was unearthed in the shipment from France.

Officers are reported to have closed a nearby street, moved cars and piled sandbags around the grenade before detonating it.

Police said there were no injuries and no indication of criminal activity.

The discovery comes after a man in the Netherlands was treated in hospital last month after he spent two and a half hours lying on top of a bomb.

He reportedly found the unexploded device while walking his dog and covered it with his body when he heard it "hissing".

His girlfriend said he was almost hypothermic after lying on the object, thought to be a grenade or shell dating from the Second World War, as temperatures plummeted until explosive experts were able to free him.