A pub landlord went “white as a sheet” as he unearthed an artillery shell while he was weeding his back yard.

Mark Brailsford, 48, who runs the King’s Head in Chapel Road, Ridgewell, accidentally hit the weapon twice with a pick axe as he was clearing ground behind the pub on Tuesday around 4.30pm.

The dad-of-two, who took over the pub three weeks ago with his wife Dawn, initally thought he had hit a buried hosepipe but discovered it was an inert weapon when he unearthed it.

Mrs Brailsford, who has lived with her family in the village for 14 years, said: “After he hit it the second time, he tried to lever it out and then he discovered it was a shell."

See this week's Halstead Gazette for the full story.