Bomb disposal experts were called to an estate in north Leatherhead this morning after fears a live artillery shell had been unearthed.

Surrey Police confirmed it had been alerted at 11am today after a device was discovered in a garden of a house in Clare Crescent.

Although there were concerns over public safety, no evacuation of the nearby residents was necessary – roads nearby were closed for a time.

The Army’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team were soon on site and able to safely remove the shell after confirming it was a practice round which was not active.

Reader Andrew Dunne was the first to bring this incident to the attention when he tweeted a photo he took of the bomb squad near his house.

The recruitment specialist said: “I only work round the corner from my house and my wife had rung to say she couldn’t get home because the police had closed the road.

“I cycled back round and was in time to photograph the army as they responded.

"It’s funny because I occasionally recruit for the defence industry, so I’m used to working with soldiers - just not having them on my doorstep.

“The police later told me that a neighbour had recently moved in and was renovating the house when they discovered the shell in the garden.

"I’m glad it wasn’t dangerous and all got sorted so quickly."

The scene of the incident is not far from Leatherhead station where back in May a suspected World War Two bomb was found to actually be a large - and harmless - rock.