Two Second World War grenades found in a garden shed caused a street to go into lockdown while the bomb squad were called in.
Police were called to Southwood Gardens, Gants Hill, at about 1pm on Sunday and put a cordon in place for an hour while the grenades were taken away.
Neighbour Payal Shah, 33, said the man who had lived in the house was a Second World War veteran, but he died last year.
She said: “I was really scared. They found the grenades with the pins in them. We were shocked.
“I have two little babies in the house and when they said the bomb squad was coming, I thought I hope nothing blows up, and we went out.”
She was told the police were about to arrive by a man who was moving items from the house next door.
Mrs Shah said: “He [the previous owner] mentioned he was in the war. I’m shocked.
“He had lots of collectable items in his house. I was really scared when I thought about what could have happened.”
A police spokesman said the specialist explosive officers declared the grenades safe at about 2.40pm and took them away for disposal. He added: “We were called to reports of two Second World War pineapple grenades.”
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