Police say what ‘suspicious item’ was found in canal after army …
Police have confirmed what the 'suspicious item' was after it was found in the Birmingham Canal. The discovery prompted Winson Green Road and footpath to be closed for almost three hours.
BirminghamLive understands that a fisherman found a grenade in the canal this morning. They alerted police to the explosive find who then sealed off the road and canal towpath.
Members of the Army 11th Regiment were drafted to the scene to examine the device, which was later removed from the scene. The road later reopened.
Members of the Army 11th Regiment (aka Army Bomb Squad) and West Midlands Police attend an incident on the Birmingham Canal that goes under Winson Green Road, Birmingham. (Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham live)
Several men in army uniform were seen at the entrance to the canal at the junction of Winson Green Road and Heath Street. While a workman told BirminghamLive: “We were told by a couple of police officers that someone had found an object in the canal while they were fishing or something like that. It’s been closed for an hour.”
A police spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: "We've closed the road on Winson Green Road near to the canal footpath after we were alerted to a suspicious item that has been recovered from the canal at around 11.30am today.
"A cordon has been put in place while the device is examined. The canal towpath near to Rabone Road and Monument Road in the Birmingham area has also been closed to pedestrians."
Police later confirmed the road had reopened after the item, understood to be a grenade, was removed from the scene.
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References
- ^ Winson Green Road live as police block road and probe incident near canal (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Birmingham News (data.reachplc.com)
- ^ Email Updates (data.reachplc.com)