A British man built a home made pipe bomb in his bedroom that accidentally set-off, and subsequently blew off his hand.
Martin Middleton, from Bolton, England, who has been described as being obsessed with bombs, decided to build his own device in the house that he shares with his pregnant fiancee, Kay Emerson. He apparently did so “for fun.”
However, in January this year, it blew up in his face, leaving him with severe burns and destroying several of his fingers.
After calling 999, police then turned up at his home and evacuated his entire street, which consists of 40 houses, and allowed bomb experts to investigate the area.
Middleton was then treated at a nearby hospital, however doctors couldn’t save the fingers which were lost in the explosion.
A witness said , “I saw a man slumped over the fence clutching his arm with his hand virtually hanging off. It looked really bad and he looked very pale.”
Another person who saw the incident, stated, “He is a bit of a rogue but I am really shocked at what happened. His girlfriend is pregnant and I thought he was getting back on the straight and narrow.”
Despite his injuries and obvious embarrassment, Middleton was arrested for his misdemeanour and was admitted into court last week.
He pleaded guilty to causing an explosion that was likely to endanger life or injure a property under the Explosive Substances Act of 1883. He will be heard in court on June 14.
Middleton’s Facebook reveals his addiction to explosives. He even stated that he wanted to get an explosion tattooed on his arm, adding the caption, “kaboom.” However his mother vetoed the action, and banned him from getting the image.
He wrote next to a sketch,” i want but [it] a bit neater and want some colour in it 2. [but] mum won’t let me have a pipe bomb on my arm.”
What do you think of Martin Middleton’s actions?