City PC recalls 'bizarre' day of city bomb blast
EXACTLY two years ago today would-be bomber Nicky Reilly detonated a homemade bomb in Princesshay's Giraffe restaurant.
Around 15 diners and staff fled the restaurant on May 22, 2008, after the bomb exploded in Reilly's hands.
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Reilly, of Plymouth, who changed his name to Mohammad Abdulaziz Rashid Saeed-Alim, admitted at the Old Bailey attempting to detonate bombs filled with nails and was jailed for life.
Much of Exeter city centre was evacuated and closed off in an emergency police operation that later drew widespread praise.
And, for the first time, one of the first policeman on the scene that day has spoken of his experience.
PC Olly Henton, 35, received a Chief Constable's Commendation award for his 'bravery and dedication' during the incident.
He said: "We thought it was a glassing when we had the first reports through. PC Adam Goodman and I arrived at the restaurant and we could see Reilly sat in a chair with his back to us. I could see there was quite a lot of blood.
"The staff were talking about some kind of bombing and that is when it all went a bit serious.
"But there wasn't any panic in the restaurant and people were still trying to get in the Giraffe as they didn't know what had happened — it was very bizarre.
"We set up a cordon straight away and ended up pushing it back as soon as we realised the magnitude of what had happened.
"Reilly was in complete shock and was quite badly injured.
"There was a bit of a stand-off when he put his hands in his pocket.
"I was hid behind an ambulance, ready to pounce if he stepped out of line.
"Myself and PC Goodman went with him in the ambulance, we weren't going to let him out of our sight.
"As soon as we got him inside the ambulance, he started praying in what we thought must have been Arabic.
"At that point, we realised this wasn't just some kid who wanted to hurt himself, this was some kind of Al-Qaeda operation.
"We knew he couldn't hurt us as we asked him to take his T-shirt off and he had nothing on him."
PC Henton added: "I still think about the incident every time I walk past the Giraffe restaurant. Due to errors in Reilly's bomb-making, no one got killed.
"I always think about how many people would have been wounded if the whole place had blown."
Reilly was jailed after pleading guilty to one count of attempted murder and one count of preparation of a terrorist act.
He received a life sentence with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 18 years.
6 Comments
by jombob, Exeter
Tuesday, May 25 2010, 4:57PM
“The perils of mixing vindaloo and guinness ...”
by Dan, Exeter
Tuesday, May 25 2010, 1:29PM
“unhappymac, I would suggest you grow up and get some perspective.
Well done to PC Henton and all the D&C officers and staff that dealt with the attempted bombing. It just shows officer training and training exercises are effective. Their work should be publicly applauded. Thanks to the E&E has been.”
by unhappymac, Exeter
Monday, May 24 2010, 11:45AM
“Devon and Cornwall police do a very good job breaking in to law abiding peoples houses to make them aware of burglary ,are coppers so observant the telephone from the reception desk was stolen,and a charge sheet,paracetamol tablets and the police sign outside the station also they let rapists off with cautions,all of this was released under freedom of information.I think there should be an enquiry,there is certainly room for improvement,the Met call Devon and Cornwall police the lazy bunch because there is a waiting list for officers who require a transfer to Devon as they do not want the gun crime and the hard work you would get in the big cities so unfortunatetly we get stuck with the work shy lot. Alot of the older officers who had something between their ears retired or left because they saw what was happening to the force,what is happening to the Exeter I used to know disappearing like my punctuation marks. I am sorry I would like to read about real heros in the paper like Barnes from Exeter he was a member R.E.M.E. on attachment to 2 Para,sadly not with us anymore we dont hear about people like this,maybe his family is too modest”
by Paul, Exeter
Sunday, May 23 2010, 5:35PM
“Don't be so harsh on the police Unhappymac, I hear they have some good leads on the person who has stolen your punctuation marks.”
by anon, Exeter
Sunday, May 23 2010, 2:27PM
“Unhappymac, what a niave, immature and downright stupid comment. To compare the work police do to the troops fighting abroad is ridiculous. They do their job bravely in incredibly dangerous conditions, the police just do their job to their best ability. I wonder who you'd call if things were to get out of hand in your life or you were a victim of crime? Maybe not the police as they're so useless?
After the bombing local police had the city centre cordoned off within minutes, mobilised over a hundred officers within the first hour and responded to several false reports of further 'devices' effectively, without causing further alarm to the public. Hundreds more officers completed the investigation. Dealing with drunks outside the Golden Horn or a major incident the police do a good job and dont forget you havent got a clue as you only see a fraction of the work they do. Next time the police are picking up body parts from the train tracks after a suicide, searching an addicts clothing with un-capped needles following a report of drug taking, gaining entry to houses, dealing with missing people, investigating crime and providing 24/7 999 cover across the city I'm sure they'll appreciate your support.”
by unhappymac, Exeter
Saturday, May 22 2010, 8:17PM
“why do we keep hearing
about this story Nicky
Reilly was retarded and
had the mental age of 14
the only person that got
hurt was him if this had been a
real terrorist we would be
bang in trouble Devon and cornwall police would be useless in a situation like this
it was recently released
under freedom of information
that a man walked in to heavitree road police station and
stole the phone from the
reception desk terrorists
dont make me laugh this
lot cant sort out drunks on a
friday night PC olly henton
what a brave man arresting
a man with the mental age of 14 and had blown himself up
i am surprised olly did not get
the victoria cross. lads in
Afghanistan cope with suicide
bombers and IED's all the time and we hear nothing about it”