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| Newcastle University student Vladimir Aust jailed over bomb scare | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A 19-year-old Russian student who sparked a major scare after making explosives in his room has been jailed. | A 19-year-old Russian student who sparked a major scare after making explosives in his room has been jailed. |
| Vladimir Aust was arrested after a highly-explosive chemical was found in his room in June, prompting Newcastle University's campus to be evacuated. | |
| He was arrested in London under anti-terrorism provisions, but Newcastle Crown Court heard those no longer applied. | |
| Aust admitted making an explosive substance and was jailed for two years. | Aust admitted making an explosive substance and was jailed for two years. |
| The hearing was told bomb disposal officers used a robot to recover the chemical hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) - a substance too volatile for military or commercial use. | The hearing was told bomb disposal officers used a robot to recover the chemical hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) - a substance too volatile for military or commercial use. |
| The chemical was destroyed in a controlled explosion on Newcastle's Town Moor. | The chemical was destroyed in a controlled explosion on Newcastle's Town Moor. |
| Aust was arrested by police outside the Russian Consulate. | Aust was arrested by police outside the Russian Consulate. |
| The court heard the teenager was fascinated by the military, weapons and pyrotechnics. | The court heard the teenager was fascinated by the military, weapons and pyrotechnics. |
| He caused a number of explosions in his room and the communal kitchen area in his hall of residence earlier in the year, using ingredients which he bought online. | |
| The North East Counter Terrorism Unit recovered several items from Aust's student accommodation in Newcastle, including a notebook, a gas mask and knives. | |
| He went on to mix powders and build detonators, creating a number of small explosions over several months. | |
| 'Potentially volatile' | |
| Sentencing Aust, Mr Justice Coulson, said he knew the substance was dangerous and that he would have posed a further risk had he not been stopped. | |
| But he also said there was no evidence of Aust having links to any dangerous political group, or evidence of him intending to attack any group. | |
| Det Ch Supt Ian Wilson, head of the North East Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "A large amount of differing and concerning substances were discovered not just from his own room in the university accommodation, but within communal areas. | |
| "Some of the items recovered are classed as potentially volatile and therefore could have put those within the vicinity at risk. | |
| "Although there is no evidence or indication what Aust planned to do with the items he manufactured, the hours he spent researching and working on them is of great concern. | |
| "It is thanks to university staff raising and reporting their concerns that police intervened and Aust could not take his obsession any further." | |
| A spokesman for Newcastle University said: "The safety of our staff and students is always our top priority and we would like to thank Northumbria Police who we worked closely with throughout the incident." |