Ottoman artillery shell sparks Scottish security alert

By Michael Sercan Daventry

LONDON (AA) - A Scottish pensioner sparked a security alert as he attempted to hand in an unexploded Ottoman World War I artillery shell as part of a police amnesty on air guns, local media said Wednesday.

The man, described as in his 80s, travelled to his nearest police station from the village of Fintry in central Scotland to hand in the shell and ask where he could dispose of it.

The Daily Record newspaper reported the shell, which measured 27 centimeters (11 inches) in length, was an heirloom that had been in the man’s family since the end of the war.

The shell was taken to nearby farmland to be assessed by specialist engineers who declared it safe, the newspaper said, without giving a date for the incident.

Police Sgt. David McNally told the newspaper: “The gentleman handed over the shell with the best of intentions. However, I think it is fair to say if gave everyone in the station a bit of a shock.”

Scottish troops formed part of the British forces that fought Ottoman troops during the nine-month campaign in the Gelibolu (Gallipoli) peninsula in 1915.