Man jailed after sending envelopes of white powder to DVLA headquarters and Stanstead airport

Gary Preston sent packages to a number of schools and establishments, including the DVLA in Swansea Credit: PA

A man who sent suspicious packages to schools, shopping centres, and buildings like the DVLA headquarters and Stanstead airport has been jailed.

Gary Preston, of Haverhill, Suffolk, sent written threats to different educational and business establishments in 2013.

In some cases, he suggested that the white powder was deadly - it was later found to be talcum powder.

However, several of the packages he sent contained notes telling the reader to run or hold their breath.

Among these establishments were the DVLA headquarters in Swansea, Westfield Shopping Centre in London, Freeport Shopping Centre in Braintree, Essex, Transport for London, and a Premier Inn near Stansted Airport.

Preston, 63, also sent notes to St Michaels Primary School, Lyons Hall Primary School, and Notley High School in Braintree, Anglia Ruskin University, Essex County Council, and other businesses in Braintree such as Vision Express, Coral, Specsavers, Barclays and Costa Coffee.

He had no links to any of the establishments and there was no apparent motive for sending the packages.

Preston had no links to any of the establishments Credit: PA

Police established him as the main suspect after he was arrested for a separate offence in July 2020. His DNA and fingerprints matched those found on the packages and he was arrested in September 2020. Handwriting analysis confirmed that he had written some of the notes.

Preston was charged with 21 offences of sending a hoax substance or other thing, and pleaded guilty to all charges in August 2023.

A cold case review also linked Preston's DNA to an indecent assault at knifepoint against a woman in Rainham, Essex in 1988. He pleaded guilty to possessing a knife and the assault in November 2023.

Preston was jailed at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday, 18 April, for a total of nine years and six months and placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

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