A young boy in England said he found a WWII bomb with a metal detector he received for Christmas.

Sonny Carter, 7, said he was enjoying a walk with his parents and older brother, Marley, when the National Geographic metal detector began buzzing after about 15 minutes. The object he dug up was a British practice bomb used in WWII, the Telegraph UK reported.

"When it started buzzing we all thought it would be some two pence pieces or something like that – I never thought it would be anything this serious," said Tracey Carter, Sonny's mother.

"It was all very exciting, the kids and Jem started digging and then our crazy dog started digging too."

The family said they took the piece of metal home, and once cleaned, they realized it was a bomb.

Sonny's father, Jem Carter, contacted a relative who is a former RAF armourer, and advised the family to call 999 and place the bomb in a bucket of cold water, in case it was a German phosphorous bomb that are susceptible to detonate when dry.

Bomb disposal experts from RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire were dispatched to the family's home in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, where they identified the explosive as a 10lb British practice bomb head, the Telegraph said.

Bomb disposal experts said that such bombs were used by troops in WWI and WWII when practicing bomb attacks instead of using actual bombs that were a lot more expensive and caused a lot more damage.

Experts said they determined that the bomb still contained its internal wiring, but did not contain any explosive material and did not pose any danger. It was taken away by RAF Wittering and disposed of.

"We feel a bit silly now we know it could have potentially been dangerous but its not often we go exploring and end up with a bomb in a bucket of water at the end of the garden," said Tracey Carter.

"We are dumbfounded that he discovered this on his first go. We are going to go out again to see if he can find something Roman. It has made our Christmas."

RAF Wittering spokesman, Flight Lieutenant Donald Earl, reminded the public not to move suspicious items, but rather contact the proper authorities immediately.

"We find a lot of bombs in Afghanistan with metal detectors but we don't tend to find them in the UK," he said.

"We would urge members of the public to leave suspicious items."

Christmas