The man from Ankang had been using the tool without realising what it was

He only realised when he was handed a leaflet about explosives

According to villagers, the man had used the grenade for the past 25 years

A villager in China spent 25 years using a hand grenade to crack walnuts without realising.

The man from Ankang, China's Shaanxi province made the discovery recently after noticing it looked similar to a grenade pictured on a leaflet handed out by local police, reports Huanqiu, an affiliation with the People's Daily Online.

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According to villagers, the man used the grenade to specifically crack open the nuts.

The villager only realised after a leaflet was sent out by police about dangerous weapons

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According to reports, the man had been using the grenade without realising what it was for some 25 years.

It had been given to him by a friend.

Images taken on December 5 show the device.

Police found that the grenade had not detonated and they were unsure if the device had explosives inside it.

It was only when the man was handed a police leaflet that he realised that he possessed a forbidden explosive.

The man had been using the grenade to crack walnuts for 25 years (File photo)

Grenades usually explode when the safety lever is released and the object is thrown away. As it rotates, it detonates the primer and ignites the fuse before burning down to the detonator.

People have been commenting on social media site Weibo about the man's lucky escape.

One user wrote: 'He persisted to snack on walnuts for 25 years?'

While another asked: 'Why would a friend gift him a bomb?'

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And one user said: 'It's more stable than a samsung phone.'