A DIY enthusiast stumbled across a Second World War grenade while refurbishing his home.

Lee Claxton was knocking through a wall into the loft of his new house in Chelston Avenue, Hove, when he made the shocking discovery.

The grenade, missing its pin, fell from the loft landing just a few feet in front of where Lee and his father Robert Claxton were standing.

Initially unaware what he had found, Lee, 23, picked up the potentially-lethal object to inspect it.

When they realised what it was, they quickly contacted the police who called the Bomb Squad.

Lee said: "I was hacking through part of the ceiling above the stairs, because we are planning to build a room in the loft.

"The grenade must have been trapped between the fibre glass insulation and the floor of the loft, so when we hit the ceiling it fell down with all the rubble.

"It's quite terrifying when we look back, because we could have blown ourselves to bits."

Police cordoned off the area surrounding the house and Lee his father were not allowed back inside.

Neighbours were warned to stand away from their windows in case of an explosion.

The Bomb Squad arrived from Aldershot at about 3.30pm and discovered there was no explosive inside the four-inch long grenade and that it was safe.

Lee's girlfriend Jody Chapman, 22, was also in the house when the grenade was found.

She said: "We were all very worried. When Lee first found it, it didn't really register that it could have killed him. But as we were waiting outside the house for the Bomb Squad, it began to sink in."

The grenade was taken by the Bomb Squad, to avoid any future misunderstandings.

Lee and Jody bought the house in December and its last occupant was a 94-year-old man. During their refurbishment, they have also come across a prescription from 1936 and a newspaper from 1943.

Lee said: "I think we will be a lot more careful when we refurbish the house from now on."