TWO “bomb” men who terrorised a quiet community have been convicted.

At Liverpool Crown Court Trevor Shawcross, 42, of Green Lane, Hindley Green, was found guilty of 19 counts of making explosive devices, and Neil Harper, 47, of James Street, Hindsford, of 21 charges of possessing explosive devices.

They are due to be sentenced on July 6.

The court was told that just before 9.45am on November 29 last year police were called to Lidl on Tyldesley Road, Hindsford, following the discovery of a suspicious package.

Officers discovered a device, described as a 'modified commercial firework' packaged in a bin liner outside the fire exit. It was made safe by bomb disposal experts and the supermarket was forced to close for several hours.

While officers were dealing with this incident a second device was discovered on a fence on a footpath off West Bank Street. Again bomb disposal carried out a controlled explosion.

At 9.11pm that day another package was found on the car park of the Focus DIY store.

Shortly before 9.30am on Monday, November 30, officers arrested Harper at his home where two suspicious packages were found in his living room.

At the same time police were alerted to another device next to a telecommunications junction box on West Bank Street. A fuse was scorched and it is thought it had been lit but failed to function.

On Tuesday, December 1 devices were also found in Harper’s Volkswagen Passat, and a further five in his kitchen, under a staircase, in a cupboard outside his house and in the glove box of a Ford Fiesta.

Bomb disposal experts attended all scenes and made all 21 devices safe.