A TEAM of explosive experts detonated what police described as a "war relic" after it was found at a construction site on Friday morning.

Police said they responded to a call at about 9am requesting assistance on the site at Punggol Drive. They notified the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which deployed personnel from its Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group.

The relic was later transported to Pasir Laba Camp, where it was detonated by SAF specialists after it was put in a sack and placed under sandbags.

The Straits Times understands the relic was a British artillery shell.

Previous war relics found in Singapore were usually bombs and shells from ammunition dumps scattered around the island, close to where British troops were deployed during the Second World War.