Man who stockpiled bomb ingredients for 'the apocalypse' caught after explosion at Kingston home

A man who stockpiled bomb-making materials to prepare for what he thought was an apocalypse was caught after an explosion in his south west London home.

Michael Pym-Nixson, 54, was "obsessed with the breakdown of society" and taught himself how to create weapons to defend himself, a court heard.

Paramedics turned up at his home in Kingston-Upon-Thames to treat burns on his hand which he claimed were caused by fireworks.

Neighbours said they heard three loud bangs, followed by shouting, a fire alarm and a cloud of smoke.

Paramedics saw screws and nails lying near the site of the explosion and called police.

Pym-Nixson was arrested by counter terrorism officers who searched his house and found he had set up a laboratory in his kitchen and had the ingredients as well as recipes for two explosive materials.

During the search officers found a foil pouch containing a red substance which combusted as officers inspected it.

Prosecutor Tom Payne told Southwark Crown Court that officers found a page in his notebook that contained a recipe for explosives and a sketch of an improvised explosive device.

Pym-Nixson initially told police he had been sorting through a box when an old firework went off in his hand.

He said all the ingredients the police found had legitimate purposes, such as gardening.

However, he eventually pleaded guilty to possessing an explosive substance.

On the day of the explosion, Pym-Nixson had been preparing three envelopes of an explosive mixture.

He had detonated two deliberately before the third exploded in his hand, causing his injuries.

The court was told that the 53-year-old was planning for the day when "civilisation came under threat" so that he could defend himself.

A police investigation and doctor's report both concluded that he was not motivated by any extremist ideology but instead was "obsessed with the breakdown of society".

He had been legally acquiring the materials for explosives since 2012, several online accounts showed.

The court was also told that the defendant was a drug addict who was dependent on heroin and suffered from serious mental health problems.

Around the time of the explosions, he admitted he was "sort of out of his head" on drugs.

Pym-Nixson appeared before a judge who was convinced he was not a danger to the public and sentenced him to 43 months in prison with a Serious Crime Prevention Order preventing him from purchasing any of the materials discovered for five years, starting when he is released from prison.