A haul of live ammunition was discovered washed up on the riverbank near Twickenham Bridge by a dog walker on Monday afternoon.

Oliver Miocic, who lives on a houseboat in east Twickenham, was walking along the river with friends when he discovered what he believed to be World War II bullets.

The 24-year-old, who works for Sky but has previously trained with the Territorial Army, found the deadly haul strewn across the river’s muddy banks.

He said: “I was walking with friends and the dog along the river to see if we could find anything interesting when we came across what looked like old bullets.

“I could tell they hadn’t been deactivated as the pin hadn’t been removed - I was really surprised to find live ammo as all we had found before was rubbish like china plates.

“At first we were joking that it was a Roman comb or something like that but on closer inspection, we saw it was bullets which had spilled out of what appeared to be a Ryman’s postal bag.

“They looked as if someone had thrown them off the bridge into the Thames.”

He added his initial reaction was that the larger bullets were the SA80 variety he used in his TA training between 2008 and 2010.

A friend later claimed they were from the Second World War, possibly from a .303 calibre rifle.

Further along the bank, on the other side of the bridge, Mr Miocic also found an abandoned motor scooter.

Police officers confirmed the vehicle had been reported stolen locally and would be removed on Monday afternoon.

After collecting and bagging all 51 of the active bullets, they confirmed they would be taken away to be destroyed.

And Mr Miocic said he would be encouraged to take up more treasure hunting in the future.

He added: “I think I probably will take more strolls along the bank and see what else is out there to be found.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We were called to Ranelagh Drive at about 3pm to a report of live ammunition being discovered.

“Our enquiries are currently ongoing.”