Letter bomb supect held for extra 24 hours

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) Police have been given more time to question a man being held in connection with a recent spate of letter bombings.

The man, who is in his 20s, has been held by police for questioning since Monday morning after being arrested at a house in the Cherry Hinton area of Cambridge.

Media reports named him as Miles Cooper, a caretaker at Teversham Church of England primary school in Cambridge.

Detectives from the domestic extremism team had been given a 24-hour extension to interview him yesterday.

This was extended today to another 24 hours, The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said.

Forensic searches of the man's house in Cherry Hinton are ongoing while a safety search of the school has been completed with nothing dangerous found.

Seven bombs, hidden in padded envelopes, were sent to various offices last month.

At least 10 people were hurt by five letter bombs which exploded between January 18 and February 7 although no one was seriously injured. Two other bombs were detected before they went off.

In one of the worst attacks, six people were hurt in Swansea, south Wales, on February 7 when the seventh letter bomb exploded at the offices of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

The attacks happened in two main clusters, the first in January when targets were forensic science laboratories in central England and the second earlier this month when the targets were offices of companies with motoring links.

Reuters AB RN0004