Middlesbrough fantasist Anwar Driouich jailed for explosive substance

Anwar Driouich's lawyer said he was a "troubled" man

A fantasist obsessed with shootings in the US has been jailed for having an explosive substance.

Anwar Driouich, 22, hoarded weapons including a crossbow and wrote in a Facebook chat he was "cold-blooded" and wanted to carry out a massacre.

Driouich, of The Avenue, Middlesbrough, admitted possessing 10kg of ammonium nitrate and seven terrorist manuals.

He was sent to prison for 20 months when he appeared via video link at the Old Bailey.

The court heard Driouich trawled the internet reading about mass shootings, terrorist attacks, and "incels" - a term for young men who consider themselves "involuntarily celibate", a loose US online community responsible for high-profile murders and a mass shooting.

Prosecutor Tom Walkling said Driouich was arrested in London last August after the company Aqua Plants Care reported his online order for 10kg of ammonium nitrate, a component of high explosives.

An examination of an iPhone revealed his stash of terror manuals and a note, under the password "killer", listing weapons, body armour and tactical equipment, the court heard.

Police searched his home and recovered precursor chemicals for explosives, three knives and arrow heads.

When police searched Driouich's home in Middlesbrough they also found arrow heads and knives

Lucie Wibberley, defending said Driouich was a not terrorist, had no plans to make a bomb, and made "teenagerish" comments.

Driouich was a "troubled" man who had been bullied and struggled to make friends, she said.

He did not have any affiliations with any extremist group, she added.

In a letter to the judge, the Driouich said: "I am sorry for the alarm my actions have caused to my community as well as all the police time and energy that has been taken up."