Improvised Explosive Device goes off in Preston

LANCASHIRE police have confirmed that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) found in a bin in the men’s toilet in the Fishergate Shopping Centre Preston on the morning of December 17 was planted deliberately, and was intended to endanger life.

The centre was closed and evacuated whilst an army bomb disposal unit was called in and they sent in a remote bomb disposal unit to check other bins whilst the IED is believed to have exploded causing little damage and no injuries.

Chief Superintendent James Lee is reported by Lancashire Evening Post to have said: “The Fishergate centre is closed whilst bomb disposal are currently retrieving a device that has been found this morning.

“I’d describe it as a small incendiary device that could cause damage to a person or damage to a property.

“It had ignited, caused very minimal damage because a member of the public found it and put it out but obviously it is a concern to us.”