A FIRST World War shell was unearthed in an Oxfordshire village yesterday.

Police and bomb disposal teams were called to Chinnor Road in Towersey, near Thame, after a member of the public found 'historic ordnance' at about 3.15pm.

Oxford Mail:

A photo of the shell. Picture by @mcintyre22sam/ Twitter

The Oxford Mail understands the shell was found on a building site. 

Emergency services closed a road while bomb disposal teams removed the item, with Thames Valley Police thanking residents for their 'patience and understanding'.

The road closure was lifted at around 7.20pm.

Read also: Village cordoned off as two unexploded bombs found

Oxford Mail:

Bomb disposal unit at the scene. Pic: Emma Lovell

In April, police safely removed two unexploded bombs in the village of Upper Heyford, near Bicester.

On that occasion, the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit was sent in to make the scene safe and members of public were urged to avoid the area.

In July last year, bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion after a war grenade was found in Wallingford.

ALSO READ: Bomb disposal detonates Second World War grenade 

The grenade had been pulled out of the river by a person magnet fishing. 

In April that year, a bomb was discovered at Drayton Recycling Centre near Abingdon, and safely detonated at Drayton Park Golf Club - watch the footage here.

According to official figures, the Ministry of Defence was involved with the safe disposal of 450 German bombs from the Second World War between 2010 and 2018 - with an average of about 60 per year.