Families were evacuated from their homes in a village near Westbury after a Second World War shell was found in a nearby field.

The unexploded shell was found in a field near Cassways Orchard in Bratton at about 2pm on Tuesday.

Westbury police arrived at the scene, set up a 100-metre cordon and evacuated occupants from the surrounding houses.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts from Tidworth arrived at the scene at about 3.30pm and left half an hour later with the shell to be disposed of.

The same Royal Logistics Corps team were called to The Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge on December 30 when a suspicious package was found.

That package turned out to be an abandoned black suitcase, which bizarrely contained a hat and a sock.

Lt Gen Louis Lillywhite, who served in the army’s Medical Services for 42 years before leaving in April last year, moved the shell into his garden after it was found in a nearby field.

The former Surgeon General to the Armed Forces said: “It was found in a field near my house.

“I moved it away from the right of way where there are often dog walkers because I didn’t want anyone to pick it up.

“I placed it at the bottom of my garden. It needed to be taken away and disposed of properly. “It was an artillery shell. I think it was manufactured in 1944.

“It was a small round used by US parachute and mountain troops.

“You expect to see them from time to time on Salisbury Plain and they need to be treated responsibly and be disposed of properly.”

At the scene, Police Community Support Officer Neil Turnbull said: “We’ve found what we think is a Second World mortar round.

“EOD are on site at the moment and we’ve put in place a 100-metre cordon and evacuated everyone within that cordon from their homes. They have gone to friends, family and neighbours.”

Inspector David Minty of Warminster and Westbury Police, added: “This kind of incident is not unusual being on the edge of the Salisbury Plain.

“We get called out similar finds about two or three times a year.

“We had a huge shell found in the centre of Warminster a few years ago and a larger cordon was put in place.”