A SPECIALIST bomb disposal team had to be called to a local village after a family ornament turned out to be an unexploded shell.

Rosemary Gay, 56, said the anti-aircraft shell was originally being used as a pin in a dry stone wall at the bottom of her garden in High Flatts.

Her son, Russell Jozefow, found the shell when his mum moved into her home about two years ago.

She said: "He found this long, black thing in the wall and he thought it was a peg being used to hold some of the wall up."

It was about 5in long and went to a point.

Miss Gay said the shell had been sitting in her kitchen, along with other ornaments.

She added: "Fortunately I've never dropped it on the floor or anything!"

She even dusted it every week.

"I've tried to clean it up a little bit because there's a number around the cap part to tell you what it is."

Then last week she decided to go and see John Springer in Upper Denby.

Miss Gay is good friends with the Springers and occasionally helps out at their house.

In the past Mr Springer has helped provide information on other pieces of war memorabilia. So Miss Gay hopped on a bus with the shell.

She said: "I went down to see him and his wife and he knows I'm interested in war memorabilia."

But once she got there Mr Springer immediately spotted the danger and called the police.

Miss Gay said she and Mrs Springer started laughing.

"I thought he was on a wind-up and he said: 'No, I'm going to have to call them and maybe even bomb disposal'."

Two police officers came round about 20 minutes later.

Miss Gay said: "Mr Springer took it outside when the police arrived. Me and Mr Springer put this bag of sand out to lay across it in case it went off."

The police then called the bomb disposal experts at Catterick.

Just over an hour later Miss Gay said a large vehicle, with sirens blazing, roared into the tiny village.

The soldiers confirmed that the shell was still live and decided to would take it back to Catterick to dispose of it safely.

On Miss Gay's return trip home she told the bus driver - who happened to be the same one as on the outwards journey - her remarkable story.

She added: "He said your bus fare has just gone up to five quid!"