UK NEWS
HUNDREDS FLEE EXETER BOMBS
CCTV footage of Nicky Reilly who was arrested in connection with an explosion in Exeter yesterday.
By Mark Reynolds
HUNDREDS fled in terror yesterday as a bomb exploded in a crowded restaurant in a shopping centre.
Workers on their lunchbreaks and shoppers were evacuated after the bomb went off in the Giraffe restaurant in the Princesshay centre in Exeter.
Witnesses told of “a series of blasts” coming from a toilet.
A man who has been arrested in connection with the blasts was found covered in blood, with cuts to an eye and burns to his face.
The explosion may have been caused by a homemade nail-bomb, although investigations are continuing.
A second device failed to go off. None of the customers or 15 staff were thought to be hurt.
A 22-year-old man was under arrest last night. Officers from Scotland Yard’s anti-terror unit were on their way to Exeter to interview him. They hope to establish if he was acting alone or had links to any fundamentalist groups.
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Police officers outside King Street in Plymouth, home of terror suspect Nicky Reilly
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Bomb disposal experts and emergency services were called to the scene at 12.50pm. Amid fears of a possible terrorist attack, large parts of the city centre were sealed off, with a 100-metre exclusion zone set up near the scene of the blast.
Witness Margaret Sellars said: “The man was casually dressed – trousers and a shirt – but he was covered in blood so it was hard to see him.
“His face was awful, just dripping in blood.
“He was also screaming with pain.”
Peter Lacey, who was in the restaurant with his wife at the time, said: “There were three explosions.
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His face was awful, just dripping in blood.
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“They sounded more like gunshots than a bomb, like a lightbulb exploding.
“They came from a locked toilet.”
Another diner, who would only be identified as Trudy, said: “It was definitely an explosion, it sounded like the lights were exploding.
“There was a lot of glass. I think it came from the toilet.
“There was concern – I would not say there was panic. Everyone got up and the staff were very good at getting everyone out.”
Last night the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, Stephen Otter, said: “We can now confirm that there were two explosive devices found at the scene.”
He said they were both in the same area of the restaurant, although he would not give exact details of where the devices were, nor what kind of devices they were. Both had been made safe quickly, he said.
Deputy Chief Constable Toby Melville added: “A man in his 20s is in custody. He has a slight laceration to an eye and superficial burns to his face.
“We have no idea of motive as it is very early days.
“We investigated three other reports of devices but found nothing suspicious.”
The blasts happened just as the restaurant filled with shoppers and office workers having lunch.
Juliet Joffe, a director of Giraffe, which has 21 restaurant and five franchises across Britain, said: “I have been given no explanation.
“As far as I am aware only one man was hurt, the man they think walked in with the device.
“My understanding is no customers or staff were hurt in the incident and I just hope to God they are all OK.”
Assistant Chief Constable Bob Spencer said hundreds of shoppers and shop staff were safely directed away from the scene of the blast.
He said: “While police are not fully aware of the circumstances of this incident it is believed that an explosion of some sort did take place. Premises nearby were evacuated as a precaution.”
Bomb squad officers were still at the scene last night, carrying out an inch-by-inch search of the restaurant.
He added: “We will be updating the public about what has happened as soon as we can.
“I urge motorists to stay away from the city centre area and road delays are likely.”
The £230million Princesshay shopping centre opened last September. It is the biggest ever regeneration project in Exeter.
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