Bomb handed in to police

The explosives were found at the Cromarty Firth

A man has handed in an unexploded wartime bomb to police following an urgent appeal.

Northern Constabulary said on Thursday morning they needed to trace a family who took the device from a beach in the Highlands.

A spokesman for the force said a local resident from Alness had called into the local police station and handed in the missing shell.

Army explosives experts destroyed a number of devices over recent days after they were found at a former airfield site on the shores of the Cromarty Firth in Easter Ross.

The shells were discovered on Tuesday by a man using a metal detector.

Warning to public

It is understood the family were given one of the devices which they took away in their white hatchback car.

On Wednesday evening, four houses were evacuated in the nearby town of Invergordon after a member of the public was found with a shell in his home.

Explosives experts destroyed the device in the early hours of Thursday and residents were allowed to return to their homes.

Police have warned the public about further munitions which may be found on Alness Point, which was a former Royal Air Force Station.