By Jenny Noyes
A police station in the Hunter Valley has been forced to evacuate as a precaution after a man entered carrying a hand grenade.
The man walked into the police station holding the weapon about 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, prompting the evacuation.
All vehicles and pedestrians were urged to avoid the area around the Cessnock Police Station, as police waited for Australian Defence Force personnel to attend and safely remove the device.
The grenade was recovered safely around 5.30pm and the station has since reopened.
A spokeswoman for NSW Police said the actions of the man who brought the grenade into the station are not being treated as "suspicious or deliberate".
It appeared he was "just trying to do the right thing and hand it in," she said.
Cessnock police station. Credit: Google Maps