Pat Dollard | Young Americans

This Is London:

A Muslim convert was being held tonight after two bombs were found in a family restaurant toilet following an explosion at lunchtime.

Police and bomb disposal teams were called in after a young white man apparently attempted to detonate a nail bomb.

Diners heard three blasts which sounded like gunshots go off in a toilet at the Giraffe cafe in Exeter city centre as they were having lunch today.

Eyewitnesses said officers had to break down the cubicle door because the 22-year-old refused to come out.

When he emerged, wearing jeans and a dark t-shirt, blood was running down his face and all over his clothes.

He was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital, where he is under armed guard, for treatment to a severely lacerated eye and facial burns. None of the customers or 15 staff at the restaurant was hurt.

There were claims the suspect was a Muslim convert and detectives are now trying to determine whether he has links to Islamic extremism.

Devon and Cornwall police refused to say what offence he was being held on suspicion of but sources close to the inquiry now fear the man was arming a bomb when part of it blew up in his face.

Police revealed that a second device had been found nearby.

Police forensic teams are believed to have recovered one or two canisters of sodium-based home made explosive either from the toilet or outside the restaurant.

A 14-strong team from the Metropolitan’s Counter Terrorism Command has travelled to Exeter to assist in the investigation.

Architect Peter Lacey, 63, and his wife Celia, 60, had just arrived to have lunch at Giraffe when the explosions went off at about 12.50pm.

Mr Lacey, from Exeter, said: “I heard a noise which sounded like a gunshot and at first I thought it was a kitchen accident of some sort, albeit a very noisy one.

“About a second afterwards there was another identical sound and maybe a second later a third.

“I think everyone in the restaurant thought the same as us.

“They thought the first blast was something normal, when they heard the second there was doubt and when the third one happened it turned to concern.

“There was absolutely no panic and I heard one customer say after the first bang they thought a light bulb had popped.

“We were sat very close to the opening where there were doors to the two toilets, one of which is disabled and the other is a cubicle used by both men and woman.

“I could tell the sound came from the cubicle but I was not in a position to see if there was a flash.

“Afterwards I saw a little piece of orange material which looked as if could have come from a cartridge and which may have been blown under the door.

“The staff tried to get into the toilet but it was locked and they must have called the police.”

Giraffe is a national chain of restaurants which are popular with families as they encourage children by giving out balloons and crayons.

Another diner, who would be identified only as Trudy, said: “It was definitely an explosion, it sounded like the lights were exploding.

“There was a lot of glass. I think it came from the toilet.

“There was concern, I wouldn’t say there was panic, everyone got up and the staff were very good getting everyone out.”

There have been attacks on shopping centres in the West Country over the past 25 years which have been linked to animal rights extremists but sources said last night that initial inquiries suggested the incident was not connected.

The Princesshay shopping centre, where the restaurant is situated, was evacuated before a Royal Navy bomb disposal team were sent in to make the devices safe.

Bob Astley, 70, from Melbourne in Australia, was shopping in Exeter, Devon, with his sister when the bomb went off.

He said: “I heard three loud bangs. Police were here immediately. They have cordoned off a really large area.

“I am just feeling very lucky and thankful at the moment.’

Devon and Cornwall chief constable Stephen Otter said: “There were two devices, one in the cafe and one nearby.

“We do not know precisely how bad it could have been if they had gone off but it would have been quite serious.

“That is why we are treating this as a serious incident and investigating it quite thoroughly.

“I cannot confirm if it was a nail bomb. We are still examining the devices.

“In terms of motive we will look at all possibilities. I just cannot say what the motive is at this stage.

“We always work with the Metropolitan Police when there has been an explosion and we do not understand the motive.”

Witness Margaret Sellars, 63, said: “It was chaos. I have never known anything like it. You might expect it in London or other big cities but not Devon.”

Mother-of-one Louise Platt, 27, said: “I was walking around the shops and I felt a strong vibration. There was a loud noise which sounded like work from a building site.

“Somebody shouted ‘a bomb has gone off’. I was very afraid. Police arrived and pushed us away from the area and cordon it all off.”

Eyewitness Alison Fewins, 27, added: “We were out shopping and were about three or four shops away when we heard a noise.

“We didn’t connect it with any kind of explosion. A few people were running around and we heard police cars.

“I am a bit shaken. It’s all a bit scary that it happened.”

Police investigated reports of three other devices in a McDonald’s, Primark and another shop in the city centre following calls from members of the public but no further devices have been found.

Thousands of office and shop workers left for home when they realised they would not be able to return to workplaces as police sealed off the city centre.

Many shoppers were forced to abandon their cars in the main car park inside the cordon and only yards from the blast site.

Juliet Joffe, a director of Giraffe which has 21 restaurants and five franchises across the UK, said: “I have been given no explanation. As far as I am aware only one man was hurt, the man they think walked in with the device.”