Two men who built and detonated an explosive device packed with nails and shrapnel in a rural town near Bristol have been jailed for seven years at Bristol Crown Court.



Neither of the men reacted as the verdict was read out.

During the course of a five day trial, the court heard the improvised explosive device detonated outside a house in Greenfield View, Midsomer Norton in the early hours of the morning.

The homeowner, Barry Wood, who has no links to the two defendants, described being waken from his sleep by an orange light outside his window and spotting a device 'fizzing and sparking' just outside his front door.


Shrapnel from the device - nails, screws and small bits of metal - had been thrown 13 metres across the street.

It took over a year for police to carry out a detailed forensic examination of the device, with experts concluding it had failed to go off as intended, with two of the three propellant cartridges failing to work.

DNA found on a lighter at the scene linked Swift's brother to the incident and when police arrested Swift, they found nuts, screws and bolts linked to the device in his home, along with three aerosol cannisters taped together and tied with cable ties, as well as tape identical to that used in the bomb.

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Swift later recorded James Daly confessing to planting the device, handing the tape over to police but the recording implicated him, after Daly was recorded saying that he had placed the bomb on Swift's instructions.

The court heard Swift had 14 previous convictions for assault, battery, possession and production of cannabis, while Daly had a conviction for driving while under the influence of alcohol.


Defending Swift, Paul Cook said: "The agreed facts of the case show that the device was not capable of hurting someone - the nails travelled through the air with the same force as them being thrown by someone's hand.

"There is little I can say in mitigation because my client maintains - and has maintained throughout the case - that this has nothing to do with him."

"He was attacked in Germany with an axe some years ago and is in poor health, he is awaiting surgery to his wrists.

“He's been trying to stay out of trouble since this offence. This happened some three and a half years ago, an inordinate amount of time for something to come to trial.

"The three and a half years waiting has caused him terrible stress, he's woken up every day with this trial in his mind. The last three years of his life have very much been affected by this trial."


Speaking on behalf of Daly, Neil Treharne told the court: "The risk to anyone was probably very limited. What we do know is that the impact was minimum and thankfully, no-one was hurt.

"Having heard the evidence, you can see the role that Mr Daly played. I would ask that you look at the dynamics of the offence and their relationship within the conspiracy.

"He's a man who left his past behind, he was badly injured in a car accident and suffered serious trauma to his brain. He's been a good family man and deeply regrets the situation he's found himself in."

Sentencing the pair, Recorder Martin Butt told them: "I know you both understand this is an extremely serious matter indeed. It was a crudely fashioned device, but one with frankly terrifying features.

"Your intention was to endanger life or cause serious damage to property. The idea of the pair of you were building bombs and leaving them outside people's homes is terrifying. You packed that bomb with nails, screws and shrapnel which could have embedded themselves into people and property.

"That bomb was left outside someone's front door in a residential area. The intention was that this would go off and those items would be propelled into someone's body."

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He said he believed Swift had been behind the plan to build the bomb, but Daly had played a substantial role in planting it outside the property in Greenfield view.

He said he believed it had been made and detonated as part of a drug vendetta.

"I regard you both as equally culpable - you have shown no remorse," he said. "The jury have heard a recording of the pair of you laughing and joking about the bomb."

He sentenced both men to seven years in jail.