'Nerdy' man guilty of making explosives in his shed

Harry Whittaker, 33, had denied possessing and making explosive substances

A man who set up a laboratory in his back garden is facing a jail sentence after being found guilty of explosive charges.

Harry Whittaker, 33, from Caddington, near Luton, was found guilty on two counts of making explosive substances, and two of possessing explosive substances.

A jury at the Old Bailey heard how the unemployed heroin user took methadone and had been conducting experiments in a garden shed at the home he shared with his mother.

Whittaker, a self-styled "nerdy" science geek, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 9 January next year.

Police went to Whittaker's address in Caddington, near Luton, in May 2024

Paramedics were called when Whittaker, who told the court he suffers from Asperger's syndrome, suffered an allergic reaction and went into anaphylactic shock.

Police were then informed and disposal experts later carried out controlled explosions on white phosphorous - a mixture used in incendiary devices.

Giving evidence, Whittaker said he had been interested in science from the age of six and developed interests in chemistry, nuclear physics, medicine, pharmacology and astronomy.

He told the jury he was attempting to collect all the elements in the periodic table and described himself as a "mad scientist" who had acquired many of the chemicals he used from the online auction site eBay.

Whittaker told police he was "astounded" to be arrested and claimed he had no problem with anyone, regardless of their creed or colour.

But the court also heard about racist messages he exchanged on WhatsApp with his father.

"Muslims turn my stomach," he wrote.

And during a discussion about a nearby Luton mosque, he talked about getting a tank and "driving it into that mosque on Friday afternoon and turning them into mincemeat".

Police found the burned out remains of a device with the words "...for use on Jews only" and "throw at swarm of Jews".

They also discovered another container labelled as Zyklon-B, the chemical used in gas chambers at Nazi death camps.

The trial also heard evidence from Whittaker's neighbour, George Nedechev.

He said fumes caused by Whittaker's experiments were so frequent and acrid that he and his family had to keep the windows shut and were effectively "hostages" in their own home.

The court heard some of the experiments had involved radioactive substances.

In another WhatsApp chat, Whittaker told a friend about an experiment that had gone wrong.

He wrote: "I was trying to isolate thorium dioxide, it just reduced down to a radioactive gunge that started exploding like a volcano going absolutely everywhere, I had to evacuate while it burned holes in the tree canopy above it.

"Suppose I have to be thankful for my home isn't radioactive lol.

The message continued about how it was "just the laboratory and the area around it that's gone Chernobyl, the house is still fine".