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| Denbigh ex-mayor John Larsen guilty in 'bomb' case | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A former Denbigh mayor has been found guilty of blowing up a car and causing other explosions in the town. | |
| John Larsen, 46, was found guilty of three counts of arson, one of causing an explosion likely to endanger life and another of possessing explosives with intent to endanger life. | |
| The series of explosions were carried out in the Lenten Pool area between January and April 2013. | The series of explosions were carried out in the Lenten Pool area between January and April 2013. |
| Caernarfon Crown Court was told Larsen got a "thrill" from his actions. | |
| Larsen, a Liberal Democrat town councillor, is expected to be sentenced on Thursday afternoon. | |
| Judge Merfyn Hughes QC said it was "a very unusual case and these are very serious offences". | |
| He added: "The sentence I will have to pass is going to be a long one." | |
| The trial heard Lenten Pool was plagued by the sound of loud bangs when Larsen caused the explosions. | |
| The incidents took place two or three times a week, culminating in a main attack on a Land Rover in March. | |
| Larsen, who was mayor of Denbigh in 1999, got a "thrill from what he was doing and the attention it was generating", the court heard. | |
| Resident Shirley Clarke told the trial: "People often said they were fireworks - they were not fireworks. | |
| "They were humongous. They were more than fireworks, it was like a bomb." | |
| Larsen was arrested by police at his nearby home on 19 April. | |
| North Wales Police found a manual on pyrotechnics in his house, a computer file named "gunpowder mix", modified fireworks and rockets, and ball-bearings. | |
| He told officers he had a legitimate interest in fireworks and had bought some materials online. | |
| In evidence, another neighbour, Trevor Jones, said the noise was like a battlefield and the bangs and explosions became gradually louder, sounding like artillery fire. |