Derry: Ex-PSNI officer targeted in car bomb plot saw 'large box' beside car

The incident happened in Eglinton in June 2015

An ex-police officer from County Londonderry, who was targeted in a car bomb plot, has told Belfast Crown Court he saw a "fairly large box" in his driveway beside his parked car.

It happened at the now-retired officer's Eglinton home in June 2015.

Two men from Dublin are standing trial on a charge of attempted murder.

They are charged with possessing explosives with intent - namely an under vehicle improvised explosive device - on the same date.

Sean Paul Farrell, 39, of Stannaway Road in Crumlin and 36-year old Ciaran Maguire of Kippure Park in Finglas deny all charges.

'Under your car'

The officer said he was sleeping but woke up when his wife got out of bed and walked over to the window.

He told the court his wife knocked the window loudly and said words to the effect of: "I have just seen somebody put something under your car."

"That's when I started to get up because I realised that there had been a problem outside the house," he said.

The retired officer said his wife contacted the PSNI and remained in the house until police arrived.

He said that when officers arrived, he went outside and noticed something under his car.

"I didn't need to kneel down, I could bend down a little bit and it was clear to me without being on my hands and knees - it was a fairly large box", he said.

A defence barrister asked him if there had been any specific threat either to him or his wife at the time.

He replied: "No, nothing specific in relation to myself or indeed my wife.

"There is always a general background threat to police officers but nothing that related to me specifically or my wife."

'Legged it'

His wife, who at the time was also a serving police officer told the court she woke up in the middle of the night, went to the window and saw a man crouched beside her husband's car in the driveway.

She was asked by a defence barrister what woke her up but she said she did not know what it was.

She said the man was "on the ground first of all".

"Then with me knocking the window, I would say reflex he swings round and faces the window where I am knocking... then he legged it out the driveway," she added.

The prosecution case against the two defendants was opened before she and her husband gave evidence.

Prosecutors said there was "an extremely strong circumstantial case" against the pair and asked the judge to consider all the "strands of evidence".

A lawyer said it included several "key" pieces of evidence.

The barrister said two cars were involved in the incident - a Vauxhall Passat and a Toyota Corolla - both of which had been stolen in June 2015 and fitted with false number plates.

A Passat was present in Eglinton both before and after the incident and travelled to Donegal via the Foyle Bridge and Bridge End.

A vehicle of the same make was stopped by Garda (Irish police) on the outskirts of Killygordon near Lifford.

The prosecution said Mr Maguire was the driver whilst Mr Farrell was in the rear seat.

The Toyota was recovered from a car park in Lifford with the prosecutor revealing both vehicles were "contaminated" with the explosive RDX which was the same explosives used in the IED.

When arrested in the stolen vehicle, neither men had any identification.

The lawyer added that that gloves discarded from the Passat and recovered by the Guards had been in contact with RDX and were linked forensically to both men.

He told the judge: "The prosecution say the offences were committed by both defendants together with each other, as part of a joint enterprise."

The hearing continues.