Man ‘obsessed by Covid’ sparked bomb scare at vaccine plant in Wales
A man with an “obsessive interest” in Covid-19 sent a suspicious package to a vaccine factory – sparking a bomb scare and evacuation, a court has been told.
Anthony Collins, 54, also sent similar parcels to 10 Downing Street and a laboratory in Wuhan in China, the court heard.
Production of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab at premises in Wrexham in Wales ground to a halt in January after a package sparked a bomb scare and 120 people had to be evacuated.
Only after army bomb disposal experts had set up a 100m cordon and detonated the device, it was then they could be sure that it contained no explosive material.
Collins, from Kent, is charged over the incident and appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday for trial.
He has denied one count of dispatching an article by post with the intention of inducing the belief it is likely to explode or ignite.
Concerns were raised by local postman Huw Jones, who noticed the odd looking package covered in writing in his bundle when he arrived at the Wockhardt site on January 27.
Police were called and the Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit – bomb disposal – was called to the scene, the court heard.
Full details here
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/wales-breaking-news-plus-traffic-22165611
