A DAD was horrified to discover that the "buried treasure" unearthed by two young boys was an unexploded bomb.

Eight-year-old pals Jack Maud and Daniel Harrison sparked a major scare after digging up the old World War Two shell and taking it home with them.

The pair were playing on the site of a new housing development when they came across the device.

But instead of leaving it in the ground of the Bryant Homes site in Clifton Moor, York, North Yorkshire, they uprooted the bomb and carried it home - to the horror of Jack's father, policeman Steve Maud.

The pair didn't even stop to ask Jack's dad what the bomb maybe.

They simply carried into the house for a clean-up in the kitchen.

Mr Maud said: "We live quite close to the Bryant Homes site and Jack and his mate were playing there. While I was painting, Jack appeared in the back garden carrying what looked like a small bomb or explosive device and took it into the house.

"I took it back to where he had found it and called the police. I was very concerned because I've seen things like this before.

"One of the policemen had military experience and he knew what it was, so the bomb squad came in from Catterick."

Military experts later confirmed that the device could not have exploded and was safe enough for the bomb disposal team to take away.

Updated:17.35 Wednesday, May 9