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Manchester Arena attack trial jurors shown mock-up of bomb

GMP Arena bomb fragmentsGMP
A five-litre paint tin was placed inside a money tin and packed with thousands of nuts and screws

A mock-up of the suicide bomb used by Salman Abedi in the Manchester Arena attack has been shown to jurors.

Abedi used a detonator which was inserted into a paint tin containing the highly-explosive homemade substance TATP, the court heard.

Hashem Abedi, 22, is on trial at the Old Bailey, accused of helping his brother plan the attack at the end of the Ariana Grande concert.

He denies 22 murders, attempted murder and conspiring to cause explosions.

Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device packed with shrapnel as 359 people milled around the arena foyer at 22:31 BST on 22 May, 2017 - one minute after the concert ended.

Family handouts Top (left to right): Lisa Lees, Alison Howe, Georgina Callender, Kelly Brewster, John Atkinson, Jane Tweddle, Marcin Klis, Eilidh MacLeod - Middle (left to right): Angelika Klis, Courtney Boyle, Saffie Roussos, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, Martyn Hett, Michelle Kiss, Philip Tron, Elaine McIver - Bottom (left to right): Wendy Fawell, Chloe Rutherford, Liam Allen-Curry, Sorrell Leczkowski, Megan Hurley, Nell JonesFamily handouts
Top (left to right): Lisa Lees, Alison Howe, Georgina Callender, Kelly Brewster, John Atkinson, Jane Tweddle, Marcin Klis, Eilidh MacLeod - Middle (left to right): Angelika Klis, Courtney Boyle, Saffie Roussos, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, Martyn Hett, Michelle Kiss, Philip Tron, Elaine McIver - Bottom (left to right): Wendy Fawell, Chloe Rutherford, Liam Allen-Curry, Sorrell Leczkowski, Megan Hurley, Nell Jones

The court heard how a five-litre paint tin was placed inside a much larger novelty money tin, with the space inside packed with thousands of nuts and screws designed to injure and kill those nearby.

Salman Abedi detonated the device possibly by using a rocker-switch in his jacket pocket, said Lorna Philp, principal case officer with the Forensic Explosive Laboratory in Kent.

She explained how components of the explosive TATP (also known as Tri-acetone Tri-peroxide) found at the scene could be made from readily-available high street products.

Julia Quenzler Hashem Abedi on trial at Old Bailey with Duncan Penny QC and Mr Justice Jeremy BakerJulia Quenzler
Hashem Abedi denies the murder of 22 people and the attempted murder of others

Traces of TATP were also discovered at the one-bedroom flat in Granby Row that Salman Abedi rented in Manchester in the days before the bombing, as well as at a sublet property in Somerton Court which was briefly rented in Blackley, north Manchester, weeks earlier.

Ms Philp said it was "possible" the Nissan Micra, which had been bought by the brothers in 2017, had been used to transport the TATP after traces were also found in the vehicle.

The trial continues.