Police have confirmed a suspected hand grenade found in a Wickford restaurant car park is not genuine.

Officers were called shortly before 3pm about a suspicious item in bushes at the Toby Carvery, in Runwell Road.

A cordon was in place and diners were kept inside the restaurant while officers waited for the arrival of an army bomb disposal unit.

Police initially asked members of the public to avoid the area, but lifted the cordon before 4.30pm.

Bob Higgs, of Hockley, who was dining at the restaurant with his family, said: "We were just told we had to stay inside because of a possible hand grenade outside.

"It was all taken in good spirit - it was the first time we have had a lock-in during the day!"

An Essex Police spokesman said: "The army came and assessed it and said it was not real. It was a replica."