A BOMB squad rushed to Harwood after a grenade was sucked up by a drain cleaning vehicle in the middle of a housing estate.

The explosive was discovered as the Bolton Council wagon travelled along Appledore Drive and Saunton Avenue at around 11.55am.

The workers aboard the wagon noticed what was described as a 'rattling sound' inside the vacuum pipe.

RECAP: Bomb disposal team called after grenade found

They stopped to check what the blockage was before discovering the grenade inside the pipe, which then rolled out on to the side of the street next to the junction with Appledore Drive.

The police were called and officers cordoned off the area from the junction with Stitch-mi-Lane to the far side of Saunton Avenue.

People were asked to stay indoors and those living close to the explosive were asked to move to the back of their homes.

The cordon remained until the bomb disposal unit arrived and an army engineer went to inspect the grenade.

It was found to be safe and placed into a container before being driven away from the area in the bomb disposal truck.

A police officer at the scene confirmed the device was inactive and would be destroyed.

Sue Whiting and her husband Tom, of Saunton Avenue, were in the house right next to the grenade with their three young grandchildren.

She said: "We just got a knock on the door and the police were there and said we might need to evacuate because of a suspicious item.

"I said to them 'is this a joke' but he said it was not and that we had to take it seriously.

"But the grenade was quite big and I was wondering how on earth it got through that grid.

"We didn't know anymore than that. We just had to wait for the bomb disposal team and the police told us to stay in the back of the house."

A woman in Appledore drive, who did not wish to be named, said she returned to her home after the cordon had been put up.

She said: "I was told a grenade had been found. It is crazy to be honest.

"I have no idea what is going on really, I just came back home and I saw all the police there near my house."

Bolton Council confirmed the explosive was found inside one of their gully cleaning vehicles, which a spokesman said was cleaning out drains as part of the authority's routine maintenance work across the borough.

The spokesman said: "The workers heard a noise in the vacuum pipe, which is attached to the vehicle. On hearing the noise they stopped what they were doing to release the blockage.

"They rang the police immediately on discovering the item."

A spokesman from Greater Manchester Police said officers were called to the 'suspicious item' and Appledore Drive, Croyd Close, Saunton Avenue and Lime Tree Drive had been closed 'as a precautionary measure'.

Police confirmed the grenade had been removed and was not 'viable'.

It is not being treated as a terrorist incident.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting reference number 868 of September 22 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.