A MAN was evacuated from his home on Monday after what was believed to be an unexploded bomb was found in his garden - only for the police to confirm it was an old stop tap.

Former detective Irving Watkin, from Elsecar, was worried about his flowers being ripped up by gas company Cadent who were conducting work outside his home on Saxton Close when engineers told him they believed they’d found a bomb in his garden.

The police arrived, then the bomb disposal unit, with the road closed off and locals evacuated while work as carried out.

But, despite initial concerns, it turns out it wasn’t a bomb at all - it was just an old stop tap.

Irving told the Chronicle: “I was eating my breakfast when they said I’ve got to let my neighbours know that there might be a bomb on my drive.

“I asked if I could finish it before the bomb squad got here.

“The gas company were digging and I just told them to be careful with my flowers and that’s when they said there might be a bomb.

“I thought they were joking.

“I might have been a detective but I definitely didn’t detect this.

“They evacuated us and then put it in a bag and went away.”

A police spokesperson added: “At 10.40am on Monday, we were called to reports of a suspicious object at Saxton Close, Barnsley.

“Officers attended and confirmed that the item was a stop tap.”