AN AREA of a North Yorkshire town was cordoned off after someone found an unexploded bomb in a river - and then took it home with them.

North Yorkshire Police said the incident happened at Knaresborough on Monday, when the object was found by a member of the public in the River Nidd.

"They took it back to their home address before contacting the police," said a spokesman.

"Due to the nature of the object, a 100m cordon was put in place whilst Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) attended to remove the object and safely deal with it."

He said the EOD were able to dispose of the object and the incident was brought to a safe conclusion.

"Thank you to residents in the local area for their patience whilst we dealt with the incident," he said.

He gave advice to anyone coming across something which might be an explosive device such a bomb, shell, mortar or marine flare: "Do not touch it. Leave the item where it is - even if it looks old and rusty, it may still contain explosives and is therefore potentially dangerous.

"Move at least 50m away and call the police on 101 and give them clear information about the location of the suspect item."