A 41-year-old man has pleaded guilty to possessing homemade explosives after a bomb scare led to the evacuation of a street in Rotherham. Brett Ainsley, of Treefield Close in Wingfield, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, where he admitted the charge.
The court heard that police discovered two improvised explosive devices in a satchel at Ainsley's home during an unrelated search on 23 June. One of the devices, concealed inside a sunglasses case, had been adapted with metal ball bearings in a way that prosecutor Owen Burns said would 'cause maximum harm'.
Twelve properties were evacuated and Treefield Close was cordoned off for more than six hours while a military bomb squad secured the house. Ainsley initially claimed that his teenage son had made the devices using YouTube videos, but later changed his plea to guilty.
Ainsley was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 1 September.
