Man With WWI Explosive Lodged In His Rectum Sparks Bomb Scare, Hospital Evacuation

credit: Iain Masterton / Alamy

A hospital in France has had to be evacuated after an 88-year-old man arrived with a First World War artillery shell stuck up his rectum.

The elderly gentleman arrived at the hospital on Saturday seeking help for his unwelcome lodger - but the hospital staff was left terrified after realizing what it was.

Hospital Sainte Musse in Toulon was partially evacuated after they found the unexploded shell inside the man, French publication Var-Martin reported.

Only the gynecology and maternity services were left operating normally during the bomb scare, and other patients were diverted to nearby hospitals.

An 88-year-old Frenchman presented at Toulon A&E yesterday with a First World War shell shoved up his arse. Bomb disposal were called to make it safe. The hospital was evacuated. I wish this was a joke. pic.twitter.com/IS2u9kUqBO

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"An emergency occurred from 9 PM to 11:30 PM on Saturday evening that required the intervention of bomb disposal personnel," a spokesperson for the hospital said.

They continued that hospital staff had to be reactive to the problem and that they took every precaution possible to keep patients and staff safe.

When bomb disposal experts arrived on the scene, they deemed the shell of little risk, saying that it is very unlikely that it would explode within the man.

"They reassured us by telling us that it was a collector’s item from the First World War, used by the French military," the hospital spokesperson continued.

Hospital Saint Musse in Toulon was partially evacuated during the incident. Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy

So then comes the part where the relic had to be removed from the 88-year-old. As one of the hospital staff summed up: "It rarely comes out where it came in."

The shell - measuring eight inches long and more than two inches wide - was removed from the man via surgery that saw it come out through his abdomen.

It is unconfirmed how the World War 1 explosive came to find itself in the man's rectum, but the New York Post stated that it's believed the man was using it for sexual pleasure.

WW1 shells such as these found in Belgium are now collector's items. Credit: Manuel Willequet / Alamy

Speaking after the event - one doctor declared: "An apple, a mango, or even a can of shaving foam, we are used to finding unusual objects inserted where they shouldn’t be. But a shell? Never!"

The elderly gentleman is now in good health and is expected to make a full recovery after the ordeal, and presumably will take precautions so that this doesn't happen again.

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