Paisley man spared jail after court hears he's taken up knitting instead of making explosives

An explosion-obsessed amateur scientist who was told he could be jailed for life for making his own explosives was spared prison - after a sheriff was told he has taken up knitting instead.

Alan Hamilton was charged with endangering lives by setting off a homemade firework in his home town of Paisley - leading to police having to evacuate homes and then destroy explosive substances and another DIY firework he had stashed in his home.

The 36-year-old came to the attention of police officers after setting off one of his homemade fireworks in Clavering Street East, Paisley, on June 9 last year.

Hamilton set the firework off during a visit to see his brother, Gordon McKay, resulting in Mr McKay's neighbours hearing a very loud explosion outside and seeing the brothers running back in to the common close while the firework was smoldering on the public footpath.

Officers raced to Mr McKay's home and, once there, he pointed to Hamilton and said: "You need to tell them what happened."

Hamilton was cautioned by police and said: "It was me that made it and when we were out for a fag I lit it and it exploded."

Mr McKay then told the officers his brother had "a fascination with fireworks" and lit a home made one but that "the explosion was much more than expected."

Officers asked Hamilton if he had any other explosives with him and he said he did not - but had potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, charcoal and another homemade firework in his own home a short distance away.

Officers went to the property, barred anyone from entering, evacuated nearby flats due to the explosion risk and classed the investigation as a 'Hazmat' incident - an incident involving materials such as explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons and radioactive materials

As such, both the Fire Service and Explosives Ordinance Disposal Unit were contacted in order to attend Mr Hamilton's home address to investigate the scene to make it safe for police investigation.

A search of the flat revealed a glass jar with a clasped lid, containing 10g of potassium nitrate, a similar jar containing 50g of sulphur, a green plastuc tub with 100g of aluminium powder, a small bag containing about 30 ball bearings, "a suspected homemade 'banger', containing potassium nitrate, a yellow tub containing 50g of aluminium powder, a yellow tub cotaining a 68g mixture of potassium nitrate, sulphur and "aluminium based low explosive pyrotechnic composition", and a baking tin containing 237g of a cream-coloured starch-based material.

Sulphur is a fuel which, when combined with an oxidiser such as potassium nitrate, can produce a "low explosive composition" - such as flash powder and black powder - which burn rapidly when ignited, can be made to explode when confined properly and are commonly used in fireworks.

The jaw containing the low explosive and the homemade banger were taken to a "suitable area" and "destroyed by a controlled explosion" at around 1.20am on Saturday, June 10 last year.

Hamilton faced two charges - endangering lives by causing an explosion, and being in possession of a number of explosive substances at his former home in Well Street, Paisley.

Last month, at Paisley Sheriff Court, he admitted breaking the Explosive Substances Act 1883 by making, or knowingly being in possession or control of, "an explosive substance, namely potassium nitrate, sulphur, aluminium and a starch based material."

A second charge that he "did unlawfully and maliciously cause by an explosive substance, an explosion of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property" by igniting "a cylinder device containing explosive material and did cause it to explode" was dropped.

Sentence was deferred for background reports to be prepared, with Sheriff Colin Pettigrew warning him the charge he had pleaded guilty to carried a maximum jail term of life imprisonment.

When he returned to the dock today/yesterday (MON) to learn his fate, defence solicitor Paul Lynch said he was a "naive" and "immature" and "socially isolated" individual who had an "obsession" with making his own fireworks.

He added: "He has replaced his interest in making his own fireworks with another hobby - and that's crochet."

As he spared him prison, Sheriff Pettigrew said he accepted the offence was committed due to a lack of "emotional maturity rather than by any malice."

He placed Hamilton on a Community Payback Order which will see him supervised by social workers for 18 months and carry out 255 hours' unpaid work, reduced from 300 hours' as he admitted his guilt, in the next 12 months