Man remanded in custody over letter bombs

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) A man accused of sending a string of letter bombs in the last two months which injured at least 10 people appeared in court today.

School caretaker Miles Cooper, 27, is charged with seven offences under the Explosive Substances Act and with five offences relating to people who were injured after opening the letter bombs.

Cooper, who was arrested on Monday at a house in Cambridge, appeared at Banbury magistrates' court in Oxfordshire. He was remanded in custody and will appear at Oxford Crown Court on March 2.

At least ten people were injured, none of them seriously, in five letter bomb attacks between January. 18 and February. 7 aimed variously at science laboratories and companies and organisations with motoring links.

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 a letter bomb exploded at the offices of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which collects vehicle tax and keeps records of ownership.

REUTERS BDP PM1708