A mother has described how her family was dramatically evacuated when builders found a live hand grenade at a property in their Watford street this afternoon.

Jessie Chopra was at home in Burton Avenue with her son and two young students who were being tutored by her husband when police knocked and told them to leave immediately.

The 43-year-old explained how she rounded up the household before they got into her car and drove a safe distance away.

She said: “The officers just said ‘get in your car and go’ - they kept telling us to get out of the house. The next door neighbours have two young children and they were getting their coats on but they found it more difficult to get away quickly.

“We weren’t panicking but when we were parked in Durban Road West we saw the bomb disposal van drive past. At that point it was quite exciting.”