Scientist 'booby-trapped own home' to guard against burglars

A former Government scientist with a grudge against Tony Blair booby-trapped his home to prevent burglars targeting his property, a court has heard.

He also rigged up an elaborate system powered by an adapted microwave inside the shed designed to deliver electric shocks, the jury was told.

The former Ministry of Defence employee, who once worked for the Government at its Fort Halstead armaments research base near Sevenoaks in Kent, told a police officer who approached him: "I don't live anywhere at the moment. The Prime Minister stole this house off me."

Police were alerted to the mantrap after being called to a garage fire at the row of three dilapidated cottages Cockburn owns in Wood Street, Swanley, Kent, on July 10 last year.

Firefighters discovered live ammunition for 9mm and .38 guns in the garage and called in the police. Officers discovered chemicals, a bank of CCTV cameras and recording equipment, drums of cabling and tubs of weedkiller.

Boxes with wires spilling out of them were also spotted around the windows and doorframes of one the cottages which appeared to be linked to infra-red sensors, PC Alasdair Winstanley told the jury of seven men and five women.

Within one of the run down cottages were electronic components, soldering irons, and forensic gloves.

Army explosives expert Captain Iain Swan of the Royal Logistic Corps discovered the mantrap in a shed about 400m from the cottages.

He pushed open the sliding doors to the shed, which were blocked with two gas cylinders. Captain Swan said: "While I was pushing it I felt something strike me on my arm.

"Of course I stopped and stepped back to see what had hit me.

"The impact on my upper arm was superficial and on my forearm seemed to to go right through to the bone. It was bleeding a lot and it was quite painful."

The jury was shown the mantrap - a metal contraption with more than eight nails, around 10cm in length, soldered to it.

Prosecutor Jonathan Higgs told the jury: "It's quite obviously an extremely heavy piece of metal with a large number of sharp nails on it." He added: "The Crown says that it was obviously designed to swing down and strike anyone who goes through that door and is not expecting it."

Mr Higgs said that Cockburn had complained to the police about burglars in 2004. He said: "He explained that he had problems for many years with people breaking into his outbuildings and had complained to the police with no success."

Captain Swan also heard a "buzzing and ticking" noise in the shed. He said the ticking came from an electric fence battery model, and the buzzing came from the microwave, which was hooked up to a control box which powered the microwave.

Cockburn's neighbour told police that Cockburn lived in a shack in a field round the corner from the cottages, his defence lawyer Michael Magarian said.

Cross examining Pc Winstanley, Mr Magarian said: "The neighbour said the defendant hadn't been near the property for four months and that prior to that the neighbour hadn't seen the defendant for one year."

He also said the wall to the garage contained a large hole which would have allowed anyone to get in.

Cockburn, of Cloonmore Avenue, Orpington, Kent, denies four charges: wounding with intent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, setting a mantrap, and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.

The offences were allegedly committed between January 1 and July 11 last year.