Man turns up at hospital with WWI bomb shoved up rectum

Olivia Burke
2026-02-02T16:08:15.041Z
News

The 24-year-old Frenchman could now reportedly face legal consequences in wake of the awkward incident

The bomb squad were reportedly called to a hospital in France after doctors found a live artillery shell from World War One lodged up a man's backside.

The military-grade projectile which dates back to 1918, said to measure 16cm in length and 4cm in diameter, was jammed up his rectum.

After stunned surgeons at the Rangueil Hospital in Toulouse, France, found the object wedged up there, they realised it hadn't been detonated - prompting a mass evacuation.

Bomb disposal experts rushed to the medical facility shortly after the 24-year-old patient arrived there late on Saturday (31 January) in a 'state of extreme discomfort'.

According to local media, the unidentified man told doctors he was experiencing pain, but did not offer any further details.

An image of the shells used during World War One (Getty Stock Image)

He ended up being whisked to a surgical suite so medics could carry out further investigations, which is when the WWI relic was found.

Amid concerns that the shell could still explode, local media reported that firefighters and a bomb disposal unit rushed to the hospital to diffuse it.

Staff and patients were evacuated while a security perimeter was also set up around the facility until it was declared safe by the experts.

As well as royally showing himself up at the hospital, there has been speculation that the French national who had the shell stuck inside of him could now possibly face legal consequences for his stunt.

News outlet Actu Toulouse reported that police are set to launch an investigation into the young man, who is said to remain in hospital, 'for violation of weapons legislation'.

Article L2353-13 of the French Defence Code states that 'the acquisition, possession, transport or illegal carrying of explosive products or explosive devices is punishable' under the country's weapons legislation.

The bomb squad rushed to Toulouse's Rangueil Hospital after medics made the shock discovery (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)

It has not been confirmed how the live artillery shell ended up inside the man's rectum, although I'm sure we can all hazard a wild guess.

La Dépêche newspaper claimed that medics in Toulouse are 'accustomed to treating victims injured during sexual games'. Just another day at the office for them then, eh?

LADbible has contacted the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Toulouse, which manages Rangueil Hospital, for comment.

Although you might think an incident like this is a rare occurrence, it actually happens on a regular basis all across the world.

It's quite the epidemic - and in 2025, a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine estimated that nearly 39,000 hospital visits each year in the US are related to rectal foreign bodies

It’s said that most patients are middle-aged and male, with over half of the cases involving sex toys - however, the US government released a list of the strangest objects they've found between patients' cheeks that will surely leave you stunned.