Inside homemade bomb factory of racist who kept 'makeshift chemical lab and amateur armoury' in his first floor flat (10 Pics)

A racist has been jailed after he turned his home into a bomb-making factory full of explosives and hate-filled diaries against Lenny Henry and Dawn French.

Steven Bracher, 56, secretly stockpiled an arsenal of bombs, over a hundred bottles of chemicals, and weapons, including machetes, knives, an axe, air pistols, catapults, and hooks.

The bomb squad made safe 17 Improvised Explosive Devices and a 9kg fertiliser bomb found under the bed in the quiet village of Bishop Tawton, Devon.

They took the fertiliser bomb onto Dartmoor and blew it up, filming the detonation to show the power of the blast.

Bracher was jailed three years and four months at Exeter Crown Court for three counts of having explosive devices, one of possessing a knife in public and one of possessing amphetamine.

Along with the explosives, which police have not linked to terrorism, were disturbing diary entries penned by Bracher detailing his extreme homophobic, racist, and anti-government views.

His scribblings included hate-fuelled rants against black people, and mentioned the comedians Lenny Henry, Dawn French and Brexit.

They included regular use of the N-word and anger at Henry and French's relationship.

In one passage he ranted: "It's time to kill the rich, kill the liars, kill the c*s. 'I'll kill them all, the f***g lot f them."

The scene discovered by police when they raided the home of Steven Bracher - including a microwave where he cooked crystal meth 

Judge David Evans said: "Amongst the somewhat rambling entries in the notebook were clear expressions of racist and homophobic attitudes and expressions of aggressive hostility to other groups in society."

He said the explosives had 'the potential for death or serious injury'.

The defendant was described by police as somebody who had 'disassociated himself' from society.

He lived alone in historic almshouses in the village, with a small circle of friends, was unemployed, enjoyed metal detecting and had a fascination with explosives - or as he called them 'fireworks'.

On January 24 this year he went to Boots the chemist in Barnstaple and told them he had lost his Subutex medication - the drug used as a legal substitute for addicts.

A total of 17 homemade improvised explosive devices [IEDs] and more than 100 chemicals were found by police

He was searched by security who found a knife on him. Police were called and Bracher produced a test tube size container with black powder in it which turned out to be gunpowder.

While he was taken to the station police searched his home and were shocked by what they found.

They discovered IEDs and bottles of chemicals scattered around the scruffy looking room. Royal Navy bomb disposal experts were called in.

Det Insp Phil Gray, who led the investigation, said: "The devices located were all viable devices and the scene was closed down.

"At no point were the public at risk from the explosives. We did not evacuate the nearby school which backed onto the garden on the advice of the Explosive Ordnance Department."

The bomb experts were certain the stone wall at the rear of the property would have contained any blast within the property.

The bomb squad spent three days at the address combing it for devices and assessing the extent of the find. They also made the explosives safe.

Experts from the forensic explosive laboratory in Kent also came down to help.

Some of the IEDs were made using metal table legs with the end sealed by 10p pieces and fuses attached.

Inside was a combination of potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal.

Others were assembled using cardboard tubes with cork stoppers and firework inside. They would have been dangerous when detonated, particularly in confined spaces, and would have sent shrapnel and fragments into the air.

Police found a bucket under the bed. Inside the bucket was a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil known as ANFO.

The substance was effectively a 9kg bomb, the largest explosive found at the property. It was later taken to a military firing range on Dartmoor and safely detonated.

Prosecutor David Sapiecha described it as a high explosive capable of causing significant damage.

A number of crossbows and other weaponry was also found at the property. On the walls were maps, small metal items, and a chemical periodic table.

Police were initially concerned the maps represented the location of stockpiles but it turned out Bracher had a harmless hobby of metal detecting and the items on the walls were mostly his farm tool finds.

Mr Sapiecha said the weapons included three machetes, two knives, an axe, air pistols, catapults, and hooks.

"Available to him he had an arsenal which could have been devastating if used," he said.

He said Bracher had turned his home into a 'makeshift chemical laboratory'.

A white substance was found in the microwave where Bracher was trying to cook up crystal meth.

Police say he had an extensive self-taught knowledge of chemicals and how to make explosives but probably not the knowledge to make crystal meth.

The chemicals, which included hydrochloric acid, could have been used as poisons but police think Bracher collected them in connection with his crystal meth and bomb making activity.

"Bracher is an individual who, from what we can tell, has disassociated himself from general society, although he has a small circle of people he would see," said DI Gray.

Police also found disturbing diaries filled with hate-fuelled rants against black, Asian, Chinese and gay people.

He referred to Lenny Henry as being 'nasty' and criticised Ms French for her relationship with him, calling her 'an insult to decent white folk'.

Bracher also appeared to hold anti-government views and mentioned Brexit, although none of the scribblings made specific or planned threats against any individuals.

"I believe in freedom of speech" he wrote before going on to list insulting names for people based on their race.

"His views are extremely concerning," said DI Gray.

"They were against society generally. They made hard reading.

"Initially the question was raised about terrorism but I can tell you at no point was this treated as a terrorist-related incident," he added.

"All the chemicals and IED were recovered and removed. Without our partners we wouldn't have been in the position we are today.

"In the first week of the investigation myself and the team were under immense pressure because of the scrutiny applied to the incident and it is a testament to the work of the team in getting sufficient evidence that we got these early charges and Bracher into custody."

DI Gray said Bracher was cooperative with police after his arrest.

"The language he uses is very different to ours in this matter," he said.

"In his mind they are fireworks and he was making fireworks whereas to us they are clearly explosives. There is a danger in that he does not understand what potentially he was doing. The potential of what he could have done is quite extensive.

"He's more fascinated in making explosives, taking them away and seeing them go bang."

Police don't believe Bracher bought the weapons illegally and probably stockpiled them over years. He didn't own a computer and had a hand injury from a previous explosion.

The defendant has previous convictions dating back to the 1980s for offences including possessing an offensive weapon in public and using threatening words and behaviour.

Richard Crabb, defending, said Bracher had led a normal and mostly law abiding life. He did not suffer from psychiatric problems but had drunk heavily and taken drugs.

He liked wildlife and had won an award for his interest in nature. He had also made some significant archaeological finds which had been reported properly.

His opiate addiction started when he was given medication for arthritis and this had got out of control by the time of the offence. He told police the rants in his notebook were 'silly' and he would not have harmed anyone.

Bracher said he had a long standing interest with pyrotechnics and the hoarding was part of a 'great experiment' and fascination with fireworks.

Judge Evans said there was no sensible explanation for having the combination of items in that ratio other than to make high explosives.

"If you had chosen to detonate that mix or somebody else had got their hands on it the potential for death and serious personal injury is obvious."

He said the defendant had a cavalier attitude to the risk of explosives which may explain why he had a 9kg bomb under his bed.

"The maximum sentence for the explosive offences is life imprisonment," said the judge.

He said the motivation may have come from a 'childish delight' in watching bangers explode but his behavior had developed into something more disturbing.

"Nobody should have this quantity of explosive devices, this quantity of high explosives and no one should manufacture it."

Judge Evans said he had considered whether the defendant was a significant risk or danger to the public.

He said he could not impose an extended sentence but the possession and manufacture of explosives by someone who was an addict and had hostile attitude to others made him a danger to the public.

He jailed Bracher for 40 months.