Man held over nail bombing of teacher’s car released on bail

Sep 29 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

Man held over nail bombing of teacher’s car released on bail

A MAN arrested on suspicion of planting a nail bomb in a teacher’s car was released on bail yesterday.

The 21-year-old was taken into police custody this week after the bomb ripped through a silver Nissan Micra outside Runnymede St Edward’s school in West Derby, Liverpool, last Friday.

The bomb – nails attached to a large firework – was detonated just minutes before hundreds of primary-age children were due to emerge, 30ft from the vehicle.

The explosion of the woman teacher’s car was described by Superintendent Ian Pilling, of Merseyside Police, as a “despicable crime”.

Emergency crews were called to the £4,500-a-year school at 2.50pm after receiving reports of a vehicle on fire.

It was only when officers examined the car – whose windows were blown out – that it became clear that the bomb had somehow been placed inside the hatchback.

Police conducted house-to-house inquiries, recovered CCTV footage and interviewed pupils, staff and parents the following Monday.

Yesterday afternoon, a force spokesman said the suspect, from Huyton, Merseyside, had been released on bail.