The far-Right ‘weirdo’ who stored bomb cache in his camper van: Machinist, 42, who was pictured shaking hands with Tommy Robinson is caught with home-made explosives, 85 knives, an axe and three SWORDS
- Simon Flint arrested after stopped by police in his campervan in Middlesbrough
- An army bomb disposal operation was later carried out near Riverside Stadium
- At Teesside Crown Court he admitted getting and modifying parts to build IEDs
- The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of having explosive substance in June
A far-Right activist found in possession of bombs plus more than 100 knives and swords has pleaded guilty to explosives offences.
Simon Flint, 42, admitted having explosive substances and threatening unlawful violence at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.
He had been arrested after threatening a group of teenagers and a man with a crossbow in County Durham, on June 28 this year.
Crusader: Flint brandishes a broadsword in an image he posted online
Flint, from Stockton-on-Tees, was later found to have 85 knives, 29 locking knives, three swords, two crossbow bolts with razor blades inserted, an axe and a knife disguised as a credit card.
Explosives including ‘black powder’ and bomb-making chemicals were found in his camper van. Drilled plastic pipes, used as the containers for homemade bombs, were also discovered along with a copy of the Koran and Britain First documents.
Police carried out controlled explosions at a shipping container which Flint had rented close to Middlesbrough Football Club’s Riverside stadium.
A major police and army bomb disposal operation was carried out at Dockside Road near the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough (pictured)
Prosecutor Jolyon Perks told the court: ‘He accepts that he engaged in the acquisition and modifications of component parts for the construction of improvised explosive devices. The defendant had no intent of damage to property or cause harm to a person. Such activities stemmed from curiosity.
‘He accepts that such activity cannot amount to a lawful object. The use for the devices were demonstrated in a series of videos where he destroys fruit and damages a laptop computer through the use of improvised explosive devices.’
Simon Flint, 42, (pictured) admitted having explosive substances and threatening unlawful violence at Teesside Crown Court
Mr Perks said Flint’s ‘stockpiling of weapons stems from a skewed sense that he needed to defend himself’.
Social media posts showed off Flint’s weapons and he even dressed as a crusading knight, brandishing a two-foot long broadsword at the camera.
Other photos showed Flint shaking the hand of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and posing with a far-Right book dressed in Britain First clothes. A person who worked near Flint’s container said: ‘He was, for want of a better word, a weirdo. He would go down on marches and rallies in London with his mates.’
The former precision machinist, set up a vigilante group to recruit members to carry out ‘operations’ against Muslims. In a series of encrypted messages, seen by the Daily Mail, Flint shared online links to articles along with anti-Muslim messages to members of the Strategic Defence Initiative, a group he founded.
Its purpose was to ‘get together a small team’ for an ‘anti-Jihad citizens’ police service’. In response to a message claiming Asian men had tried to kidnap four girls, Flint posted of the ‘need to make an example of them’.
He also said a man involved in an alleged hit and run should be ‘snagged and bagged’, accompanying the message with a Muslim slur.
Flint pleaded guilty to affray and two counts of having an explosive substance. He had already admitted possession of prohibited and offensive weapons. Sentencing was adjourned.