Couple discover 7,500 machine gun, shotgun and pistol bullets in their back garden while weeding their pond

A couple who recently moved into a rented home discovered a cache of 7,500 bullets in a pond in their back garden.
Neil Tipping, 33, who lives with his girlfriend Eleanor Mercer, 32, made the shocking discovery while he was clearing weeds from the water feature.
He said he saw a flash of metal and thought it was a piece of gold, but upon closer inspection he found that it was actually a bullet.
Police officers arrived at the house where they discovered 2.2mm rifle rounds, up to 30 machine gun rounds, shotgun cartridges, and a cache of 9mm and 8mm rounds.

Hands-on: A police officer wearing purple gloves lines up a number of the bullets found in the pond at Mr Tipping and Ms Mercer's home

Safe: Despite the thousands of bullets that were found, the police did not feel the need to evacuate the couple

Now the pair are worried there may be more rounds of undiscovered ammunition in their home. 
Mr Tipping said: 'It’s really unnerved us. I’m terrified that next time I’m mowing the lawn I’ll run over a bullet that hasn’t been found yet. One of us could be seriously hurt.

'We have friends with young children who could have put one of the bullets in their mouth, or one of our cats could have got hold of one - it doesn’t bear thinking about.

Shocked: Eleanor Mercer and Neil Tipping stumbled upon a haul of ammunition in their rented home

'We were planning to be in this house for years - now we want to move out as soon as we can.
The couple, who have been together for 10 years, moved into the rented house last September.

Mr Tipping made the discovery earlier this month while using a rake to pull up long reeds from one of the two ponds.
'Something fell from the pile of weeds I’d pulled out and it hit the paving stones with a clink. I didn’t think much about it until it happened again with the next pile - and I saw a flash of gold.

'My first thought was ‘Oh my God, I’ve found treasure! I was thrilled. 
'But I picked the metal up and realised it was a bullet.'

Mr Tipping called alerted his partner Ms Mercer and  headed to a friend’s house - incredibly, with the bullets in his pocket.
'It seems really stupid now but I didn’t realise they could be dangerous, I just wanted to find out what they were. My friend used to live on a farm and told me they were 2.2mm bullets.
'I came home and looked in the pond for more - then we spotted some really big ones.'

Ms Mercer added: 'I rang my dad because he used to be in the Navy, and he told us not to touch them because they could be dangerous.

Haul: The pond also contained 20 to 30 machine gun rounds, two shotgun cartridges, more than 50 9mm rounds and 30 8mm rounds

Ready to go: A view of police preparing to conduct search for bullets, from inside Mr Tipping and Ms Mercer's home

He said they could have eroded over time and we should call the police straight away. It was at that point that we started to panic.'
The couple dialled 101 and two officers arrived, quickly realised the seriousness of the situation, and called in CID officers who alerted the fire brigade to drain the ponds because the underwater search unit was not available.

Search: A picture taken from inside the house shows police officers scouring the pond for hidden ammunition in Mr Tipping and Ms Mercer's garden

Before the pair knew what was happening, two fire engines pulled up, followed by two police vans - and their garden was taken over as a full-scale assessment took place.
As an examination of the bullets deemed them not to be a risk, the couple were not evacuated, but officers stayed until 1am sifting through the sludge and mud in one of the ponds - where they found around 2,200 bullets - the majority of which were 2.2mm rifle rounds.
But shockingly, the pond also contained 20 to 30 machine gun rounds, two shotgun cartridges, more than 50 9mm rounds and 30 8mm rounds.
Police assured the Mr Tipping and Ms Mercer they would be back the next day to search the second pond.

Ms Mercer said: 'After the second seven-hour day, one of the officers asked me how many I thought they’d found in that pond.
'I thought it would maybe be the same amount as the first pond, and I couldn’t believe it when he said they’d found over 5,600 more.'

The next day police brought metal detectors and did a full search of the house and garden to make sure there was no more hidden ammunition, before giving the couple the all-clear.

'It’s just mind-blowing,' Mr Tipping said. 'The police told me that they found more rounds of ammunition in our back garden than at the local arms store.'

No stone unturned: A police officer in protective gear looks under the floorboards of the living room in the house

While West Yorkshire Police have launched an investigation into how the ammunition ended up in the ponds, the couple have contacted their letting agent - who in turn, spoke to the landlord who now lives in Turkey.

'He was astonished, and said he had no idea where it had come from,' Ms Mercer said. 'The house was empty for a year before we took it so we don’t know what has happened.

'It’s sad because we love this house and have spent time and effort making it a home. And somebody somewhere has ruined that. I don’t want to stay in a house where that kind of thing has been found in the garden. I’m gutted.'

Mr Tipping added: 'Of course for our family and friends this is a great story, but for us, it’s ruined our home.'

Concerned: Mr Tipping and Ms Mercer have expressed unease about continuing to live at their home in Leeds after police drained their pond and found thousands of bullets

Probe: Police have launched an investigation while the couple's landlord, who lives in Turkey, is said to be 'astonished' at the find at his property in Leeds

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