Wrexham vaccine plant: Fake bomb 'had defendant's address inside'

A suspicious parcel contained the name and address of a man accused of causing a bomb scare at a Covid vaccine factory, a court has heard.

Production was halted at the AstraZeneca plant in Wrexham in January, and the building was evacuated after the parcel was found.

A garden glove was also found inside the detonated parcel, jurors at Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Anthony Collins, 54, from Chatham Hill, Chatham, Kent denies all charges.

Mr Collins has been charged with one count of posting an article with the intention of inducing the belief it is likely to explode or ignite.

Similar parcels were also sent to 10 Downing Street and a laboratory in Wuhan in China.

Concerns were raised by local postman Huw Jones, who noticed the odd looking package in his bundle when he arrived at the Wockhardt site on 27 January.

Prosecutor Alan Gardner told the jury: "The Army staff came to the site and they set up a cordon and they examined the package using a robot.

"It appeared looking at that X-ray of what was inside this package that the package contained batteries and electrical circuitry."

The bomb disposal team proceeded on the basis that the package might contain a viable explosive device, the prosecutor said.

The Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team detonated the device but found there was no explosive material.

Along with paperwork and the garden glove there was also a calculator, four batteries, a "yellow biohazard bar", and a cleaning wipe.

Mr Gardener said: "There is no dispute that it was Mr Anthony Collins who sent this package by post to Wockhardt.

"One of the pieces of paper - one of the documents - found inside contained Mr Anthony Collins' name and address", he added.

Mr Gardner said the defendant had "developed, for whatever reason, some degree of obsession with issues related to the Covid virus and the associated vaccines".

Wockhardt, a global pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, was providing fill-and-finish services for the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the final stage of putting the vaccine into vials.

The trial continues.