Former soldier sentenced for creating improvised explosive devices at his Derbyshire home and assaulting police officer in custody

Peter Galvin pleaded guilty to three counts of making an explosive substance and one count of assaulting an emergency worker.

Galvin, who has been remanded in custody since November 25 of last year, was sentenced today at Derby Crown Court.

The prosecution said that the National Crime Agency had shared information with the police, which indicated that Galvin was in receipt of items that could be used to form a bomb.

The 43-year-old was placed under surveillance, and the police secured a warrant to search his address at Stephenson Place, Clay Cross, on November 16 2022. Neighbouring properties were evacuated to allow for the search to be performed safely.

The court heard that Galvin was arrested away from his address and was compliant with officers - volunteering information on where the relevant materials were kept.

Officers entered the address using Galvin’s keys - and found what the prosecution described as “two improvised explosive devices and one improvised incendiary device.”

The devices were subsequently sent for forensic examination. The first was an improvised rocket made with five empty beer cans, which had cardboard fins and a plastic nose cone.

The prosecution said that, inside the tubing, there was 277 grams of an explosive substance made of a potassium nitrate and sugar mixture - known by hobbyists makers as ‘rocket candy’.

The court heard that the second was an improvised incendiary device made with a deodorant can - filled with 340 grams of thermite and a magnesium ribbon, which could be used to ignite the device.

The final device was a sealed tin with two holes, which had copper wiring running through, and was filled with 46 grams of an improvised low explosive black powder.

The prosecution said that, while Galvin was in custody, officers entered his cell as they were concerned for his safety. Galvin jumped from his bed at one officer and attempted to grab him, and as they tried to restrain him, bit one of the officers on his little finger. The officer involved did not suffer any permanent injury.

Galvin also made threats during another interaction with officers, according to the prosecution - who said he told officers that he would contact his army mates to blow things up and that it would be “Armageddon”.

The court heard that Galvin later explained his comments concerning blowing things up, denying any intention to hurt anyone. He said he had an interest in rockets and fireworks and watched YouTube videos on this, and was hoping to let the devices off in a friend’s field.

The defence said that Galvin’s actions “caused a bit of a furore, to put it mildly” - but added that a psychiatrist who assessed him said that “Galvin had no intention of making explosives to harm property or any individual.”

The court heard that Galvin suffers from PTSD, which the defence said “comes from early life experience” and his time in the Army between 1996 and 2010 - during which he served in more than one theatre of war.

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The defence accepted that there was “no excuse for the way he behaved in the police station”, but said that Galvin “was distressed because he was not getting the antipsychotic medication he was taking.”

In his concluding remarks, Judge Martin Hurst said that “these are the activities of a hobbyist, particularly the rocket” - and that he believed Galvin “did not intend to cause any injury to anybody.”

He did, however, say that the threats Galvin made in the police station were “troubling” - adding that “police officers do not deserve that sort of behaviour.”

Judge Hurst told Galvin that “his country thanks him for his service and apologises for the impact it has had on him”, but said that his PTSD “cannot be an excuse to behave badly.”

Galvin was handed a sentence of 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. This incorporated a nine month sentence for the three counts of making an explosive substance, and a three month sentence for assaulting an emergency worker.

He must also engage in a thinking skills programme for 31 days, undertake 20 days of rehabilitation activity, and complete 150 hours of unpaid work.