Police still unsure why Heather Exley stored hand grenades, other explosive materials and 2,000 rounds of ammunition

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A woman who stored improvised hand grenades, other explosive materials and 2,000 rounds of ammunition in her house has been jailed for three years.

Heather Exley, 44, was jailed at Leeds crown court on Monday.

They said her hoarding of the explosives posed a clear danger to a residential area but they still do not know what her motivation was for storing the items.

The north-east counter terrorism unit said officers attended Exley’s home in Penn Drive, Liversedge, West Yorkshire, in April 2014 as part of a drugs inquiry. They found hundreds of rounds of ammunition – including cartridges, hollow-point bullets and soft-nose bullets – improvised hand grenades, partially constructed hand grenades, improvised detonators, the explosive PETN and other explosive material.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Some of the ammunition found at the house. Photograph: North East CTU/PA

Specialists searched the house for a number of days following the initial discovery.

Exley was charged with 10 offences under the Explosives Act and three offences under the Firearms Act and pleaded guilty to all the offences in November last year.

DCS Clive Wain, head of the unit, said: “I hope today’s outcome at court sends a message to the public that the possession of highly volatile chemicals and explosives is not only extremely dangerous but is also likely to constitute a serious criminal offence.

“Exley had stored these chemicals and explosives in a house in a well-populated residential area and there is no knowing what might have happened had they been ignited, either accidentally or deliberately.

“It is still not clear what Exley’s motives were for obtaining the chemicals, or possessing large quantities of ammunition without the appropriate certification. Whether it was a fascination with explosives and firearms, or her intention was more concerning, thankfully the items were removed before any further steps could be taken.”