He took it into his house, where his friend used a camera phone to take a picture of him joking and holding the eight-inch device. Mr Davies, a window cleaner, then placed it near his sink next to some washing up where it sat for more than two hours.
But later in the morning he had a 'bad feeling' and after checking the internet, he realised the rusty lump of metal was an anti-tank grenade. He threw it into his back garden and called police, who evacuated 12 nearby homes and summoned bomb disposal experts. They set up a 100 metre exclusion zone around the house before taking the bomb - which was still live - to a nearby field to blow it up.
Mr Davies, of Exeter, Devon, said: 'I couldn't believe what was happening. I dug this thing up and it looked like a part of some old machine. 'I took it inside so I could show the kids when they came home from school and my mate took a photo of me for a laugh and I put it down the side.
'A bit later on I suddenly thought it might be dangerous and had a look on the internet. I said "I think it's a bomb". 'I can't believe I had it in my hand and was posing for a picture. The bomb team told me it was still live.'
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said the anti-tank grenade was detonated by experts at 12.50pm on Friday. He said: 'The bomb disposal team took it away and blew it up. We visited homeowners and asked them to leave their houses to retreat behind a cordon. Twelve properties were affected.'
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