A hand grenade that was discovered close to Ron Perry & Son’s A19 sites resulted in both forecourts being closed for several hours while bomb experts were called in.
A recovery company works out of the back of the Ron Perry A19 Southbound site near Hartlepool and one of the cars parked there was found to have a hand grenade inside.
As a precaution, the A19 was closed as well as both Ron Perry’s Northbound and Southbound sites.
Director of operations Dan Perry takes up the story: “Despite reports that the grenade was found on the forecourt, it wasn’t, but as a precaution the emergency services had to set up an exclusion zone which meant both sites were closed for approximately four hours, from 3pm to 7pm on Tuesday.”
Dan said that if you have ever seen the film, The Hurt Locker, that’s what the site looked like as bomb disposal teams in full gear and a bomb disposal robot were dispatched. The hand grenade was taken to a nearby field where there was a controlled explosion.
“Social media went crazy with all sorts of comments and wild theories,” said Dan. “There was talk of nuclear devices and someone said the hand grenade was seen in the glovebox of a car whose driver was filling up with fuel – none of which, of course, was true.
“The funniest comment was from someone who said they hoped our Rollover hot dog machine hadn’t been blown up!
“But seriously, all credit to the emergency services. We put out a message on social media thanking them for their swift action. We also put out a message saying that the Rollover machine was fine and all the hot dogs were safe and sound!”
