A young boy from Norfolk, England, uncovers a British practice bomb

Jan 3, 2013 14:28 GMT  ·  By

7-year-old Sonny Cater from King's Lynn, in Norfolk, England, this year received his most exciting Christmas present yet.

His parents gave him a National Geographic metal detector that he immediately rushed outside to use. It was on his first “expedition” that he encountered a bomb.

"Kids always love looking for treasure so we thought it would be a fun random present for his stocking. [...] We are dumbfounded that he discovered this on his first go," his mother Tracey tells the Telegraph.

At first, the bomb featured above was covered in mud, and he couldn't tell what it was. As he brought it home, the family uncovered he had stumbled upon a possibly dangerous weapon.

His father Jem had served as an RAF armorer, and told him to place it in cold water. He was weary it could be a German phosphorous bomb, which can blow as it is uncovered, but only if it is kept dry.

As a bomb disposal team was called at the scene, they explained it was a British practice bomb from WWII.