A DOG walker has described the moment when he stumbled upon an old mortar round.

Simon Cooper found it near the old Shell Store at Rotherwas, Hereford.

He and his wife Ginny had been walking their dog on New Year's Day when they made the discovery.

A bomb disposal squad was called and took the shell away for safe disposal.

Mr Cooper, who lives in Hinton, Hereford, said: "I had been very interested in Second World War history from a young age, so I recognised the ordnance from its shape, and its closeness to the old munitions factory raised my suspicions.

It was just poking out of the soil near the edge of a grass path in front of some old brick store buildings that stand on the site.

"I pushed it carefully with my foot, and it fell over. That's when I realised what it was!

"I rang a friend who was in the police just to make sure I wasn't wasting anyone's time. He told me to ring 101, which I did.

"They sent two dog units and they taped the area off. They got the bomb squad involved who came about an hour later and confirmed it to be a mortar round, which was safe. The officer later rang me back to tell me this and thank me."