An unexploded grenade was found at a property in Beckenham Lane in Shortlands earlier today (September 22).
Officers were called to the scene at around 1pm.
Police said nobody was injured but the area was cordoned off and specialist officers attended.
Alex McFee, who works at local estate agent Curran and Pinner said staff from The IT Crowd, a computer repair shop on Beckenham Lane, had found the grenade.
The 20-year-old, of Ravenscroft Road in Penge, said: "The police shouted to us to stay inside. Everything here came to a standstill. There was definitely a sense of confusion.
"The bomb disposal squad went in and brought it out. It was dealt with quite quickly really."
Steve Hughes, who works at Kent Fireplace in Beckenham Lane, said he heard police had found a grenade in a safe above one of the shops.
The 37-year-old, of Farnaby Road, said: "The police shut the road off for about an hour and a half.
"There was two police cars and four or five policeman and then two guys from bomb disposal showed up"
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