The Imam of Exeter Mosque Mohammed Abrar said the Islamic Centre of the South West "utterly condemns" the "act of terror" in the city's Giraffe restaurant on Thursday.

Nick Reilly, 22, from Plymouth, who was arrested at the scene under the Terrorism Act, suffered facial and eye injuries when one of three devices partially exploded.

He was released from hospital in Exeter on Monday and can now be formally interviewed by police.

In a joint statement to Devon County Council's Executive the Imam and authority leader Brian Greenslade said the Exeter Muslim community and the council were "united in their shock and condemnation" of last week's attempted bombing.

It read: "Such an act of terrorism is designed to create division, is indiscriminate in who it affects, and is a crime.

"It is important that this shocking experience pulls us all closer together and does not serve to spread fear and mistrust among communities."

Earlier Mr Greenslade said the Imam's presence would send a message to the community that "life in Devon will go on in the way we like to see it".

He added: "These events can happen anywhere. Perhaps it is a sign that with the success of security forces elsewhere in the country, softer targets are perhaps being sought."