Matthew Haydon jailed for causing Sharnbrook house explosion

A “dangerous” man obsessed with explosives, who once asked to throw a grenade on TV show Jim’ll Fix It, has been jailed for causing an explosion at his family home.

Matthew Haydon, 48, injured his hands and chest in the blast in Loring Road, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, on 10 April 2023.

Jailing him at the Old Bailey for four and a half years with a four-year extended licence period, Mr Justice Johnson said Haydon knew the dangers of what he was doing but was “prepared to run that risk”.

He said notes and drawings found in his cell showed Haydon’s obsession with explosives and explosions had continued while he was in prison, and told him: “In short, you are dangerous.”

The explosion happened at Haydon’s mother’s house, the family home for 45 years.

He had turned one room into a makeshift laboratory and carried out extensive research into how to make explosives.

Neighbours described feeling their house shake in the blast and one still suffered from stress and anxiety, the judge said.

They had to be evacuated during the operation by the Army and police because of the quantity of chemicals that Haydon had amassed in a “haphazard way”.

The court heard Haydon’s motivation was “misguided curiosity” and “personal fascination” rather than murderous intent.

The judge said he was satisfied Haydon did not cause the explosion for the purposes of terrorism.

A jury returned a guilty verdict by a majority of 11 to one after they deliberated for six hours and 40 minutes at the Old Bailey in April.

During sentencing, the judge said Haydon had always had an obsession with explosives and explosions and, as a child, had written to Jim’ll Fix It asking to throw a hand grenade.

“You synthesised extremely sensitive, extremely unstable and extremely dangerous compounds,” he said.

“You knew what you were doing and knew the dangers of high explosives and did foresee the possibility you would cause an explosion and were prepared to run that risk.”

In mitigation, defence barrister Adam King described Haydon as an “affable, nice man” who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“He knows he’s done something wrong. He gets it and is not going to do it again,” Mr King added.

The judge made orders preventing Haydon creating any chemical explosions or improvised explosive devices at home or in public, or acquiring chemicals that could be used in the manufacture of home-made explosives.

Det Insp Rich Stott, of Bedfordshire Police’s Major Crime Unit, said: “A residential bedroom is not the appropriate place for materials of this nature to be stored or experimented with.

“This was a dangerous obsession that quite easily could have taken his life and that of the people around him.”