Man due in court accused of sending suspicious package to Covid vaccine factory

The plant in Wockhardt in Wrexham was evacuated on 27 January 2021. Credit: ITV Wales

A man from Kent is due to stand trial on Monday (15 November) accused of sending a suspicious package to a coronavirus vaccine factory in North Wales.

The plant in Wockhardt in Wrexham had to be evacuated on 27 January 2021 when the parcel arrived.

Police and bomb disposal teams were called the factory to investigate the package, which fortunately did not turn out to pose a threat.

Bomb disposal teams were called the factory. Credit: ITV Wales

The Wrexham factory carries out the "fill and finish" stage of the manufacturing process for doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The 400 employees at the factory resumed production once the package had been taken away for testing.

Specialist teams were called to the factory. Credit: ITV Wales

Anthony Collins of Chatham Hill, Chatham, has pleaded not guilty to dispatching an article by post with the intention of inducing the belief it is likely to explode or ignite.

The 53-year-old is due to appear at Maidstone Crown Court.

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