No threat from artillery shell

The scare follows a similar one at Te Maunga Refuse Station, in the Bay of Plenty in February where this shell was found. Photo / Joel Ford

A man found what he thought to be an unexploded military shell underneath an Auckland house he was renovating today.

The Defence Force bomb squad was called to the property on Cheltenham Rd, Devonport, about midday after the man found the cannon round.

The area was cordoned off for about half an hour while the bomb squad investigated.

Sergeant Steve Pivac said it was quickly established that it was a non-explosive projectile - the tip of the round as opposed to the explosive cartridge - and it was not a threat.

It was not known how it got under the house nor how old it was.

The shell was found near North Head - a hill site used as a military base during World War 2.

- NZ Herald staff, NZPA