Three children in eastern Germany have fished rusty World War Two shells and bullets out of a pond using a powerful magnet, without injuring themselves.

They called police when they made their discovery near the town of Ohrdruf.

Police cordoned off the area, urging the public to report any such finds immediately and leave the munitions alone. It is not clear why the ammunition had been dumped in the pond.

Unexploded WW2 bombs are often found in Germany, prompting mass evacuations.

Germany was littered with explosives after the war because of the intensive air raids by British, US and Soviet bombers. Bomb disposal experts have to deal with the finds, as an old detonator can set off a bomb by itself. The discoveries are often made at construction sites.