Bomb squad descend on Bridgewater Canal and explosion carried out after 'grenade' pulled out of water

Bomb disposal units descended on a street in Sale on Sunday evening (June 9) after a suspected grenade was pulled out of the Bridgewater Canal.

Emergency services put a 100 metre cordon in place on Marsland Road with pathways down to the Bridgewater Canal also taped off by officers after the device was found at around 6.30pm.

Shannon Stone, who was with friend Luke and his brother Joshua had gone down to the canal, near to the Brooklands tram stop with the magnet that Shannon had bought for 18-year-old Luke for Christmas.

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It took just minutes for emergency services to arrive after the grenade, that was active, had been pulled out of the water. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal units also attended before the device was detonated and disposed of.

"We pulled the magnet out of the canal and at first we thought it was a big bolt," Shannon said. "As soon as we pulled it out, Luke knew instantly it was a grenade.

"He placed it on the floor and told us to back off while he called the police. We were very excited - but 999 advised us to keep our distance until they arrived. We just watched as it unravelled.

"We were eager to find out if it was real or not, and the police told us it was active so they had to take it away to detonate, which made us realise how lucky we were.

"They [cordoned off] the whole of the bridge above the Metrolink stop, stopping the trams and taping off the canal itself. We rang 999 at 6.35pm and the police were on the scene within minutes."

A GMP spokesperson said: “Police were called around 6:30pm this evening (Sunday 9 June) to a report of a suspected grenade being found near Brooklands Metrolink Stop on Marsland Road in Sale.

“In line with