SAFETY fears have been raised after bomb disposal experts were called to a site just yards from a planned £96million gas plant.

The Army and police were called to Byley on Monday after a 4ft cylinder was discovered on a former RAF airfield near Middlewich Road.

Farmer George Yarwood, who owns the land, said: "We decided it would be wise not to mess around with it because it looked sufficiently dangerous."

The cylinder was discovered by a metal detector enthusiast in a field at Holly House Farm and 60-year-old Mr Yarwood called police because he believed the black shell could be a Second World War bomb.

Police were also concerned about the device, which was found just 550 yards from the farm and gas plant site and near to both the M6 and Byley Primary School.

Officers contacted the Army's Explosives Ordinance Disposal Team which arrived at 8.30pm and slowly uncovered the cylinder.

Onlookers including Mr Yarwood, his wife and a Guardian photographer were told not to leave the farmyard, but after 45 minutes the Army recruits realised the device was a 60-year-old connection box for electrical wiring which was probably used to help planes land on one of the airfield's three runways.

PC Philip Monks said: "It's been checked out and was nothing of any concern."

Yesterday, Tuesday, Mr Yarwood claimed there should be concern about unexploded bombs buried beneath the land.

But E.ON UK, the company that runs Powergen, said wartime bombs would not affect the gas plant because its caverns would be about a third of a mile underground.

Spokesman Emily Highmore said: "Anything that's found just wouldn't be an issue.

"The areas where we're working are all inspected before work is carried out."