The admission of a patient to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester prompted a response from British army explosives experts after it became apparent that the unfortunate man had an artillery shell lodged in his rear, The Sun reports.
According to the newspaper, one source told them that the patient said "he found the shell when he was having a clear out of his stuff."
"He said he put it on the floor then he slipped and fell on it — and it went up his a**e,” the source said. “He was in a considerable amount of pain. I think he collected military memorabilia.”
The "report that a patient had presented with a munition in his rectum" prompted local police to respond, with a spokesman reportedly saying that "the item had been removed prior to police arrival and the Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were contacted".
Troops from the 11th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment were then dispatched to the hospital, with the Ministry of Defence saying: “We can confirm an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called out to Gloucestershire at the request of local police.”
The inconveniently placed 17 centimetre by 6 centimetre munition was later identified as a WWII 57mm artillery shell like those that were typically used as ordnance for six-pounder anti-tank guns.
"It was a solid shot round. It was a chunky, pointed lump of lead designed to rip through a tank’s armour," a “defence source" said, as quoted by the newspaper. "It was basically an inert lump of metal, so there was no risk to life — at least not to anyone else’s."
The patient has reportedly been released from the hospital and is “expected to make full recovery.”