POLICE cordoned off a road after the discovery of a suspected hand grenade.

Officers were called Constable Avenue, Clacton, at its junction with Gerard Avenue, after a member of the public spotted the objects in a pile leaves in an alleyway yesterday at 4pm.

A number of homes closest to the site were evacuated and Cann Hall Primary School was set up as temporary evacuation point.

Other residents were advised to stay inside.

The road was closed in both directions and a 100-metre cordon was put in place while the incident was ongoing.

Army bomb disposal experts attended and the item was identified as being "not live". They then took it away for disposal.

Cordons were lifted at 5.45pm and people were allowed to return to their homes.

The Ministry of Defence last night was unable to say what the device was and how it dealt with it, but there was noticeable explosion.

One resident said: “It’s very quiet down here. You wonder how a grenade could have ended up in the alleyway.”

A resident who was told to leave their home said: “It’s an inconvenience but it is better to be safe than sorry.”