Tewkesbury Council Offices Resume Operations Following Grenade Disposal

Tewkesbury Borough Council’s offices have resumed operations following the safe detonation of a grenade by explosives experts. The device had been brought to the offices by a member of the public. The council had initiated a temporary closure of its offices and evacuated personnel from the premises upon the grenade’s reception. This ordnance was given to Tewkesbury Borough Council staff by an individual who discovered it during metal detecting activities. Gloucestershire Constabulary established a cordon around the building at 14:10 GMT on Tuesday afternoon. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team successfully detonated the grenade at 16:45 GMT on Tuesday afternoon, with the offices reopening a short time later. A spokesperson for the council said: “Yesterday afternoon, a member of the public handed in a grenade to our council offices that they discovered while metal detecting.” “We evacuated the building as a precaution, and officers continued to work remotely ensuring that all council services remained operational.” “We worked with Gloucestershire Constabulary who dealt with the device, and the offices have reopened as normal today.” A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed: “We can confirm an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was called out to The Vineyards, Tewkesbury at the request of Gloucestershire Police.” “A team from 11EOD&S Regiment responded to the call-out in question. An item of ordnance was taken away and subsequently disposed of in a safe manner.”