The oddball who built a 'terror' bomb by bedroom computer

5 April 2012

A schoolboy drop-out blew up his parents home after learning how to make a bomb used by the July 7 terrorists on the internet, a court has heard

Edward Mattison, 21, ordered the ingredients for his home-made device from his computer after developing a "worrying and unhealthy" interest in explosives.

Among the cocktail of chemicals seized by bomb squad officers was acetone peroxide - commonly known as the Mother of Satan because of its devastating power - which was used by the four suicide bombers in the London bombings.

The explosive, highly susceptible to heat, friction and shock, takes the form of a white crystalline powder and has a distinctive acrid smell. In recent years it has become the explosive of choice for extremists and was allegedly found by detectives investigating the plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.

The blast created by Mattison in May last year was so powerful that it blew off the doors to the garage at his parents £450,000 four bedroom home and led to neighbours being evacuated.

Worryingly, he had ordered the ingredients for the bomb without any security checks from a variety of suppliers listed on the internet. He then stored them in a trunk in his bedroom before returning to the worldwide web where he also found instructions on how to create the explosion.

Leaving the Mother of Satan explosive in the fridge the loner poured other ingredients into a gardening glove and then detonated the device - rocking the leafy neighbourhood of Worsley, Greater Manchester, and forcing four families to be evacuated to a nearby hotel.

Mattison's parents - who were unaware of his bizarre hobby - were away at the time of the blast. Inquiries later revealed that Mattison - who studied A Level Chemistry at Eccles College before dropping out - had been linked to other explosions in the area, the court was told.

One blast caused the death of a sheep on a field near the M60 motorway. Another occurred in Worsley Woods and was heard miles away. He also blew up a remote-controlled toy car, a two-litre bottle of lemonade and other gardening gloves inside the garage.

Police only recovered the bomb making equipment after searching Mattison's bedroom following the explosion.

Yesterday, Mattison, of Brereton Drive in Worsley, admitted four charges of possessing explosive material. He also pleaded guilty to five out of seven counts of downloading child pornography.

The images - ranging from the highest to the lowest categories - were found by officers who seized his laptop following the explosion. He will be sentenced at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on October 9.

Last night, a neighbour said: "On the day of the blast we heard a big explosion - a big bang. It sounded like a huge firework and I could see smoke coming from a corrugated iron roof of the garage.

"We couldn't believe it when we heard what materials he kept at the house. We would always say hello to the family and they seem like perfectly good people.

"There's never been a hint of a problem with them and he is not the sort of lad who goes around chasing trouble."

The neighbour added: "He is a real oddball and a loner and although he was interested in chemicals, we heard he had dropped out of college.

Greater Manchester Police said Mattison was not suspected of terrorist activities.

But one officer said: "This young man kept a lethal cocktail of chemicals which could have caused untold damage and possibly death.

"It's a miracle none was seriously injured as a result of his activities. It illustrates the dangers of the Internet.

"It is possible the Mother of Satan explosive he left in his fridge could have detonated simply by the fridge being accidentally shoved."

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