A SAINTS legend has discovered what is believed to be a bomb dating back to World War Two in his back garden.

It was found while former Southampton FC player Franny Benali, who lives in Chilworth, was tidying up the garden just over two weeks ago.

That was when he came across a heavy metal object around eight or nine inches in length towards the back of the yard.

Franny said that he immediately called the police, which then sent two members of their bomb disposal team to his home.

He said: “I picked it up and thought it was just some old piece of metal, and showed it to wife and daughter. I realised by its weight and appearance that it probably is some sort of bomb and that I should contact someone about it.

“I guess the fact I thought I should get it checked out led to an amount of uncertainty about it. I certainly didn’t go near it again.”

According to Franny, the disposal team said they believe it is a practice bomb that was most likely used by British pilots going on bombing raids for demonstration runs.

He also asked them if he could have kept it on the basis of it being safe, however he said they then took it away and disposed of it.

Franny added: “It goes back to the period of the World War – it has obviously been undiscovered for many years. It goes to show what can be discovered. I’ve never seen anything like that before, certainly not in the garden, it was quite a discovery.

“It was a fascinating one and worth reporting. I didn’t want to throw it in a skip as it’s not something you find in your garden every day.”