A rather strange object was uncovered behind the municipal cemetery in Vélez-Málaga. It looked like a hand-grenade but it had an ornate design.

In case of doubt, treat it as the worse case scenario: ordinance from the Spanish Civil War, so the cemetery workers immediately informed the Town Hall. Consequently, a Policía Local patrol was despatched, who took one look and decided to let the Policía Nacional take over.

Obviously, nobody was evicted from the cemetery for their own safety – the residents are all dead – so when the Policía Nacional decided to call in the Guardia Civil, who have a bomb-disposal squad (Tedax), it was only a case of keeping back curious bystanders.

The design on the artefact looked more like artwork than a normal explosive casing designed to fragment and produce shrapnel, but a closer inspection confirmed that it was a hand-grenade, but a homemade one, adapted from container designed for another purpose.

Even so, the device was taken to Málaga for a more detailed inspection, once it was made safe.

Editorial comment: This classic example of the fact that the only Spanish police worth having when the chips are down is the Guardia Civil. Scrap the other police services and let’s have more Guardia patrolling.

(News: Velez-Malaga, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)