An Army bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion on a vintage grenade that was handed into Ennis Garda station this morning.

The man brought the live grenade into the front office of the station after he discovered it at the rear of property he had been working at.

The grenade, believed to date back to the War of Independence, was taken to a safe area at the rear of the station while the bomb squad was alerted.

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team from Cork arrived at the scene at 1.50pm and identified the grenade as a viable War of Independence era grenade.

A Defence Forces spokesman confirmed that the grenade was removed to a nearby quarry where it was disposed of by controlled explosion.

The spokesman also advised that members of the public come across any item that they suspect could contain explosive material they should not attempt to move it.

“Record the location of the item and contact the local Gardaí, who will in turn request an Army Bomb Disposal Teams as required,” the spokesman said.