A suspected bomb found in a garden in Finsbury Park has been identified by explosives officers.

The mysterious cylindrical object was a “practice bomb” and was not live, police said.

It was found by a woman gardening at her home in Somerfield Road who described it as a rusty 50cm-long cylinder, but it is not known how it got there.

A police spokesman said: “We were called at 10.47am to possible sightings of a bomb. It was found in the back garden of a resident’s property and removed by explosives officers who confirmed it was not live. Part of the road was closed until 11.38am.”

It is thought the woman spotted it weeks ago but only decided to phone police today.

Somerfield Road resident Ben Bloom, 25, said: “You hear about people finding this type of thing every now and again but don’t expect it to happen on your own doorstep.

“It’s pretty amazing for something like this to turn up in someone’s garden in Finsbury Park.

“I was out in my garden yesterday and can’t say I saw anything suspicious myself but I definitely wasn’t looking for a bomb. Maybe I’ll have a dig around and see what I can find later on this week.”