CHITA, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - Police in an east Siberian town have found a over 1,000 artillery shells hoarded by a local resident in his vegetable garden, the Zabaikalsky Territory's police department said.

The 30-year-old unemployed resident of Nerchinsk gathered the explosives after a military ammunition storehouse outside the town caught fire in 2001. The shells had been dispersed over a 20 km radius by explosions during the fire, a police spokesman said.

The arsenal also includes mines, grenades and other explosive material. The man told police he had gathered the ammunition to sell it as metal scrap.

"The vegetable garden which has been turned into an ammunition store is now under police guard. Sappers will soon assess the level of danger posed by the artillery shells and their exact number," the spokesman said.