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Bomb in boot man spared jail

Stephen Hart was given a nine month sentence suspended for two years at Maidstone Crown Court
Stephen Hart was given a nine month sentence suspended for two years at Maidstone Crown Court

A HISTORY buff could have blown up the Channel Tunnel with devastating consequences when he travelled through with a live Second World War bomb in the boot of his car, a court heard.

Stephen Hart had found the Stokes Trench mortar on the Somme near his French holiday home and was planning to get a friend to identify it.

But after it was discovered at the entrance to the tunnel it sparked a major security alert and Army bomb disposal experts had to be called in.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that the mortar was taken a safe distance from the area and blown up.

On Friday, the 54-year-old company director walked free after Judge Adele Williams told him: “Bear in mind, and let the public bear in mind, that you have come as close as you possibly can to going to prison today.”

Hart, of Frant Court, Frant, Tunbridge Wells, was given a nine month sentence suspended for two years after admitting possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.

Allister Walker, prosecuting, said Hart was travelling alone to his French home in his BMW on Friday January 28 when he was stopped for security check at the terminal in Folkestone.

The car was found to have dust particles of an explosive substance. In the boot with his suitcase was a rusty, 18in long cylinder.

“Asked what it was, he said it was part of a heavy machine gun he found while walking on the Somme the previous Sunday,” said Mr Walker. “He said he brought it back to England to see if he could identify it.

“He said he was returning to France so that a friend interested in military history could look at it. It is accepted that it would not have been identifiable as a mortar bomb.”

Mr Walker said after the mortar gave a positive reading for TNT nitro-glycerine, the tunnel was cordoned off and bomb disposal experts were called in.

The site was shut down for four hours between 6pm and10pm and caused chaos on the surrounding roads, including the M20.

Mr Walker said Sgt Colin Grant of the disposal regiment recognised the device as a mortar made for the British Army between 1914 and 1930. An X-ray revealed explosive components inside. The pin was still intact.

Because of its age and fragility, it was decided to move it a safe distance for a controlled explosion.

“It was Sgt Grant’s professional opinion that the device was extremely dangerous,” said the prosecutor. “Had it exploded on board, it would not only have destroyed the rear of the car and any vehicle behind it, it would have killed any passenger inside or nearby.

“It would probably have started a significant fire on the train with the obvious potential consequences.”

Hart told police he was an amateur historian who was interested in World War I and had researched where his grandfather had served on the Somme.

He said he took it to his home abut 60 miles south east of Calais on the edge of the Somme. He put it in the boot and returned to England. He was going back to France when stopped.

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