A four-year-old girl and a man have been left with shrapnel wounds after a World War II-era ordnance exploded at their home near Newcastle.
Emergency services were called to a home at Anna Bay in Port Stephens about 10pm on Monday night to find the man, 37, and girl with non-life-threatening lacerations.
NSW Police Chief Inspector Brian Tracey said a WWII "ordnance" had exploded sending shrapnel into the man and girl's lower limbs.
"The four-year-old girl is undergoing surgery now for shrapnel wounds to her leg and hip," he told reporters at Raymond Terrace on Tuesday.
It's unclear if the man needs surgery at this stage.
Insp Tracey said the man had recovered the explosive from a nearby beach and may have narrowly escaped serious injury or death.
"The gentleman is very, very lucky he's actually picked it up at the beach and taken it home," he said.
"It could have exploded any time."
Police and army specialists removed several items from the home and rendered them safe but an explosives detection dog remains on scene.
Insp Tracey could not confirm what type of items were found in the man's home but said there were enough "to fill the bottom of a bucket".
He said it wasn't uncommon for ordnances and unexploded bombs to wash up on the beach north of Newcastle, with some of the area historically used as a military dumping ground.
"If it looks like a bomb and it's old rusty metal don't touch it," he said, urging the public to notify police who will send in the bomb squad to deal with the threat.
The man is yet to be interviewed by police.
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