Buxton: Third Man Jailed Over Car Bomb

3 July 2013, 16:36 | Updated: 3 July 2013, 16:39

A third man's been jailed after a bomb was found under a car in Buxton in Norfolk.

30-year-old Paul Gregory supplied explosives used in a plot to blow up a car in Buxton and has been jailed for four years.

He admitted making the explosive material used in a device placed under a car in Coltishall Road on Sunday 2 September last year.

The mastermind of the incident, 50-year-old Jonathan Taylor, was last month jailed for seven-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to doing an act with intent to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or property and possession of a prohibited weapon.

His co-defendant, Milos Gontkovic, was also jailed last month for his role in the plot and sentenced to two-and-a-half years for assisting an offender and giving a false statement to police.

The court heard that the device was found underneath a car, which belonged to Taylor ex-girlfriend's new partner.

Six homes were evacuated and a 100metre cordon was put in place while Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and SO15 counter-terrorist officers examined the device and were able to remove it safely. It was sent for forensic examination and was found to be a potentially viable pipe bomb.

Taylor, aged 50 and of Southwell Road in Norwich, was arrested the following morning, and when police searched his flat various items were found including a stun gun and a wrist watch which can make audio recordings. One recording was of Taylor discussing how to make a bomb, showing others a mixture of explosives and saying how he was going to put it under a car.

Gontkovic, 26 and of no fixed address, was also arrested on 3 September after enquiries established he had driven Taylor to Buxton although he had lied to police and a friend whose car he had taken about where he had been.

Text messages on his mobile phone claimed that Taylor was going to pay him to carry out a job 12 miles away from Norwich. Gontkovic had tried to get a friend to go with him so he could use his car but he refused; Gontkovic took the car anyway.

The explosives were supplied to Taylor by Gregory, also known as Paul Boom Boom, of Middleton's Lane, Norwich. In December 2012 a warrant was executed at his home and EOD officers identified chemicals, literature and tools which could be used to make explosives. A diagram of a pipe bomb was also found.

Gregory admitted making an explosive mixture for Taylor and gave him a flask, wiring and tape. He was charged with possession of an explosive substance for an unlawful purpose, which he pleaded guilty to in court on 9 March 2013 along with making an explosive device.

Today at Norwich Crown Court, Wednesday 3 July, he was sentenced to four years for making an explosive device and three years for possession of an explosive substance which will run concurrently.

Detectives Constable Graham Finney, who worked on the investigation, said: "The device could have caused serious damage to life and property, and it is fortunate that it was spotted before the vehicle was driven.

"Gregory is a troubled individual who thought nothing of making, storing or using explosives. He appears to have been manipulated by Taylor and Gregory not only endangered people in Buxton by providing explosives, but he has also risked the lives of those living near him as more of the explosive compound was found concealed in his house.

"It is pleasing to see these men behind bars with lengthy custodial sentences."