The police station in Zaventem had to be evacuated at the weekend after members of the public brought in a grenade in a bucket.
The locals found the grenade while clearing out a garden shed on Saturday and decided to take it to police.
“Our colleagues immediately asked them to carefully set the bucket down, not to touch the grenade again and to leave the station straight away,” says Jana Berghman, spokesperson for the Zaventem police zone.
If you find an explosive, alert the emergency services straight away and move to a safe distance immediately
The reception area and the adjoining offices were evacuated and a cordon was set up at the entrance. The DOVO bomb squad was alerted and took the grenade away for investigation. The cordon was then lifted.
“We had never expected members of the public to hand in a grenade, because you must never touch, pick up or move such an object,” Berghman said. “If you find an explosive, alert the emergency services straight away and move to a safe distance immediately.”