Man says he posted explosive devices

A paranoid schizophrenic admitted yesterday that he had sent letter bombs to 15 homes and businesses, injuring several people during a terror campaign that lasted more than two months.

Glynn Harding, 27, chose his victims because he perceived them to have links with animal cruelty. These included a pest controller, an estate agent dealing in livestock auctions, those connected with farming and even a fish-and-chip shop owner.

He made the devices at home in Crewe, Cheshire, fitting a battery-powered detonator to Jiffy bags filled with gunpowder and crude shrapnel such as ball bearings and pins.

Harding, who is being detained in a secure mental health unit, pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court to 12 counts of sending explosive devices, three counts of causing bodily harm and one count of possessing gunpowder. He will be sentenced on 21 September.