Police got a present from a well-meaning citizen this week, but what was in the package proved to be a bigger surprise than any of them expected. A police spokesperson said that a citizen walked into a police sub-station with a shopping bag and said that they wanted to turn a couple of items over to the authorities. But what was in the bag, provided more than a few anxious moments for the officers.
Authorities said that the station was evacuated after the desk officer opened the bag and found it contained a pair of ARTILLERY SHELLS. The Kingston police station was immediately evacuated after the two shells, designed to hold explosive ammunition, were turned over to the desk Sargent. The officer ordered the station to be closed and all personnel to leave the premises in south west London as a precaution and cordons were put in place at around 2.30pm.
The Bomb Squad was then called in to handle the explosives and secure the scene. Police officer Seb Ellis said: “A member of the public walked into the station and said ‘I want to hand these in’, so we looked in their bag and saw two artillery shells.”
“We weren’t sure if they were live or not, we had to call special teams to sort it and make it safe. It would be ideal if people had artillery to give us a call first and we can collect it,” officer Ellis added.
The public was made aware of the developing situation by a Tweet from the Kingston Metropolitan Police which read: “Kingston Police Station front office is currently closed while we deal with an incident.
Later in an official statement a Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Member of the public hands in artillery shells to the front counter we clear the area while specialist units deal. Items suspected to be artillery shells were handed in at Kingston Police Station at around 2.30pm on Tuesday February 28th. The station was partially evacuated as a precaution and temporarily closed. Specialist units were called to the scene to deal. The suspected shells have now been removed and the station has reopened.”
No arrests were made in connection with the incident.