Blackpool man jailed for threats to kill Muslims

Darren Dale showed police his weapons when they visited his home

A man who threatened to kill Muslims with weapons he kept at home, including a homemade stun gun, has been jailed.

Darren Dale, from Blackpool, was visited by police on 14 February after expressing extreme right wing views.

He told officers he had watched online videos on making explosives and about his plans to attack Muslims, Lancashire Police said.

The 41-year-old, of Reads Avenue, was jailed at Preston Crown Court for three years and four months.

He had previously pleaded guilty to threats to kill and attempted possession of a prohibited weapon.

Taser boast

During the police visit in February, he showed them "several weapons" including a steel bar from a dumb bell, a knife and two stun guns - including one that he had made himself, a force spokesperson said.

Dale boasted that his "Taser" was as powerful as a police version and that he would simply need to connect it to a battery for it to work.

Officers later found more weapons at his home, including a black plastic block with wires sticking out.

Det Supt Will Chatterton, head of investigations at the counter terrorism policing for the North West, said: "Dale's intentions were thwarted long before he could ever carry them out."

He added: "It's horrifying that an individual planned to carry out a pre-empted venomous attack intending to harm people because of their religion."