Talbot Street bomb-making haul

The Talbot Street bomb-making haul, on 28 September 2006, had two men arrested in the north of England and charged under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 for the possession of rocket launchers and a large haul of explosives-making chemicals. The case went virtually unreported in the national press until the trial.

The trial began on 12 February 2007. One man pleaded guilty of possession of explosives, the other denied all charges.

On 28 September 2006, Robert Cottage, a former candidate for the British National Party, was arrested at his home in Talbot Street, Colne. The police claimed to have recovered chemical components which could be used to make explosives. They believe it is the largest haul ever discovered in someone's home in England. He was charged under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 on 2 October.

The police operation had been sparked off when Robert Cottage's wife told a social worker that her husband had several crossbows and chemicals stored in his home.

Police Superintendent Neil Smith said: "He's not a terrorist and it's not a bomb factory but we are interested in what we have seized from his house. It will take expert advice to establish exactly what he has got. He was arrested under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 on suspicion of possessing chemical substances that aren't in themselves an offense to possess but if combined may be capable of making an explosion."

On 29 September 2006, David Bolus Jackson, a retired dentist, was arrested in Grange-over-Sands and also charged under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 on 2 October. His house in Trent Road, Nelson, Lancashire was also searched, and the prosecutor in the case reported that rocket launchers, chemicals, BNP literature and a nuclear biological suit were uncovered. The prosecutor also alleged that the pair had "some kind of master plan".

Both men were remanded in custody and were due to appear at Burnley Crown Court on 23 October, but actually appeared in Preston Crown Court a day later where the trial was adjourned until 15 January 2007 (see Discussion page), with a trial date set for 12 February in the Manchester Crown Court.

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Wikipedia