A World War II explosive shell was demolished after being found in a river in Dorchester yesterday.

Police and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts safely destroyed the shell in a controlled demolition in a field near the River Frome.

The shell was a World War II-era two-pounder high explosive shell, designed to target vehicles during the Second World War.

The bomb squad carried out a standard demolition procedure as the shell was not in a fit state to be taken back.

EOD experts moved the shell to a safe location away from the river bed where they disposed of the shell by demolition.

Stephen Hill, 28, found the object whilst cleaning up the river on Lubbecke Way in the county town.

Mr Hill regularly fishes using a high-powered magnet for his YouTube channel 'Mad Hatter Magnet Fishing'.

He uses the magnet for environmental reasons to pick up bottles, glass and litter from the river.

He said it was a "shock" finding the suspected explosive device but it was not his first experience.

He said: "It is not my first experience of finding an explosive, I had a grenade in the past so I know about it to a degree.

"It is quite scary though because you never know when it may go off

"It is quite an exciting find but it does shut the whole day down afterwards.

"I believe it is an anti-tank shell, I have alerted the police of course."

Police arrived at the scene shortly before midday, where they quickly requested EOD experts to carry out an assessment.

The bomb squad arrived shortly before 5pm where they transported the shell the shortest distance to a safe location, from the river to a nearby field.

They dug a hole in the field in order to detonate the explosive shell in a controlled manner.

The shell was detonated at 3.37pm, leaving a hole in the ground about 3 feet wide.

Police and the bomb squad left the scene at around 3.50pm after the area was deemed safe for public access.