Bomb disposal experts made safe three small homemade explosive devices found at a Sawyers Grove address on Friday. Two people have since been charged.

Essex Police has lifted the 100-metre cordon around Sawyers Grove in Brentwood. Bomb disposal experts found that three items discovered at an address there were small homemade explosive devices, and dealt with them safely.

Updated 7 November: Essex Police said on Monday 2 November that a man and a woman, both of Sawyers Grove, have been charged. The charges are criminal damage, harassment and making threats to kill. Enquiries about the suspicious items found at the address remain ongoing, the force said (Essex Police, 2 November 2026). Charged people are innocent unless proved guilty.

When this story was first published on 31 October, a man and a woman, both in their 40s and from Brentwood, were in custody for questioning. Essex Police said they had been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosive Substances Act.

What happened on Friday

The force set out the day in its statement, published at 12.15pm on Friday 30 October and updated that evening (Essex Police, 30 October 2026):

  • officers were called to Sawyers Grove at around 7.20am, after reports of a disturbance
  • they forced entry to an address and detained a man and a woman
  • a search found three suspicious items, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts were called
  • a 100-metre cordon went up as a precaution, across much of Sawyers Grove and small parts of Sawyers Hall Lane and Highland Avenue
  • around 40 properties were affected, and a number of residents were evacuated while the items were assessed

The experts established that all three items were small homemade explosive devices. Once they had been dealt with, officers carried out an extensive search of the property to make sure there was nothing else dangerous inside.

The force called that search “a challenging and time-consuming process due to the condition of the address”. It says a number of wraps of suspected crack cocaine were recovered.

What the police said

Chief Inspector Terry Fisher said: “We fully appreciate the disruption this incident has caused to residents, particularly those who had to leave their homes at short notice.”

He added: “The cordon and evacuations were necessary precautions to ensure people’s safety while specialist colleagues assessed the items and a thorough search of the address was carried out.”

The force says its investigation into the circumstances is ongoing.

What it means for you

  • The cordon has gone. Sawyers Grove, Sawyers Hall Lane and Highland Avenue are open again, and residents who were moved out can go home.
  • The rendezvous point was for the length of the cordon. Essex Police and Brentwood Borough Council set it up at King George’s Playing Fields Pavilion for people who could not get back into their homes.
  • If you saw something on Friday morning that could help the investigation, Essex Police takes information online, through Live Chat on its website or on 101. In an emergency, call 999.
  • An arrest is not a charge. Essex Police has announced no charges. We will report any charging decision the force announces.

Crime figures for your street and ward are on police.uk, which publishes them for Essex every month.