A Morecambe man has been jailed for 7 years after he made a homemade bomb to try and harm a work colleague.
37 year old Stephen Kay of Mardale Avenue in Morecambe was found guilty during a trial of offences against the person relating to explosives.
He was also found guilty of possession of a firearm and possession of prohibited weapons in the form of two CS sprays as well as a charge of place/lay an explosive substance with intent to cause grevious bodily harm.
The charges relate to incidents dating back to March 1999 when a viable Improvised Explosive Device was left outside the home of one of Mr Kay’s work colleagues at Crofters Fold in Heysham. It is believed that Mr Kay held a grudge towards the colleague and had become paranoid and deluded.
The victim and his wife discovered the device but luckily were not injured as it failed to explode.
Stephen Kay was originally arrested in September 2010. The original arrest led to the evacuation of around 80 people and major disruption to the Lune Street area of Lancaster as suspicious devices were found.
Kay was arrested again in August 2012 and charged. He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today (Friday 14th June)
Speaking after the sentencing Sergeant Clive O’Beirne said: “We are really happy with the sentence given today and hope it shows that, despite the incident taking place 14 years ago Lancashire Constabulary will never forget about a case and all major crime will continue to be reviewed and re-investigated until we find out the truth.
I am glad that we finally know who was responsible and hope the residents of Heysham and the surrounding areas are feeling reassured that Stephen Kay is no longer in a position to put lives at risk.
Lancashire police will never tolerate anybody taking the law into their own hands, it was only luck that the device did not explode which could have caused the serious injury or even death of the victim and his wife. Finally I would like to thank everybody for their patience and co-operation during this investigation, particularly during the disruption caused when Stephen Kay was first arrested.”