A WOLLESCOTE road was closed for several hours after volunteers from a Stourbridge environmental group discovered what they believed could be a grenade during a clean-up session.

Members of Transition Stourbridge's River Stour Clear Water Project were moving a large mattress that had been pulled out of Ludgebridge brook, off Wollescote Road, when they discovered the device underneath it at around 10.45am on Sunday.

Rosanne Adams, project co-ordinator, said: "Someone who had army connections said it should be checked out so the police were called."

She said officers quickly blocked off the area while investigations took place but despite talk of bomb squads, the volunteers weren't worried.

Mrs Adams added: "One of the police officers decided to have another look at it and realised he probably recognised it from an old Austin car he had some 13 years before."

She said once his suspicions were confirmed, the area was re-opened, although it was too late for the group to continue their tidying mission.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "A photo of the object was taken and sent to explosives specialists for visual analysis whilst the area was cordoned off by police as a precaution.

"The bomb disposal team assessed the device and concluded it to be a hydropneumatic suspension from a motor vehicle and it was taken to a local waste recycling centre for disposal."