IAIN MERRICK HORWICH BOMB PLOT AND CHILD ABUSE IMAGES SHOCK BOLTON

In March 2014, Iain Merrick, a 39-year-old man from Horwich, was sentenced to a lengthy prison term after a series of disturbing criminal activities that terrorized the local community and targeted postal workers and schools in Bolton. Merrick, described as an 'obsessive loner,' orchestrated a campaign of harassment and violence that culminated in the planting of a homemade bomb and the distribution of indecent images of children.

His actions were driven by a long-standing grudge against the Royal Mail, stemming from his belief that his mail was being misdirected to other addresses. This perceived grievance led Merrick to target postal employees, publicly accusing one of them of being a paedophile, which further fueled the hostility he directed towards the postal service and its workers. The severity of his actions was highlighted during sentencing when Judge Martin Steiger QC remarked on Merrick's use of his intelligence and technical skills to carry out these malicious acts, describing the campaign as ruthless, relentless, and highly sophisticated.

The first major incident occurred on April 15, 2011, when a postal worker in Winter Hey Lane, Horwich, discovered a makeshift bomb inside a postbox. The package contained a dangerous assembly of nails, wires, a lightbulb, a battery, and a circuit, along with match heads, fish hooks, and razor blades. The court was told that if the circuit had been completed, the device could have ignited fiercely, posing a serious risk of injury to anyone handling it. The area had to be cordoned off, and the Army’s Royal Logistics Corps was called in to assist with the investigation.

Following this incident, Merrick’s campaign of intimidation escalated. During the spring of 2011, stickers appeared around Horwich branding a postal worker as a convicted paedophile, further fueling community fears. In October of the same year, six schools in Bolton, including St Joseph’s High School, Leverhulme Park Primary School, Lostock Primary School, High Lawn Primary School, Oxford Grove Primary School, and The Valley Primary School, received two indecent images of children. These images bore the names of two postal workers, prompting police to investigate potential links to child abuse.

Police inquiries led to the questioning of Merrick, who was found to have sent mail under the names of six Royal Mail employees to his own address and a neighboring residence. A raid on Merrick’s home in Cheriton Gardens, Horwich, uncovered a pen drive containing terrorist-related materials, including indecent images of children, some of which matched those sent to the schools. Authorities also discovered notebooks with instructions on creating improvised explosive devices, as well as information on how to obtain necessary components. The police seized over 1,000 indecent images of children, ranging from less severe to the most disturbing levels.

During the trial at Manchester Crown Court, it was revealed that Merrick’s actions had caused significant fear and distress among the victims, some of whom had moved away or changed jobs to escape the harassment. Merrick’s defense argued that he was an unremarkable man with traits of Asperger’s syndrome and obsessive tendencies, but no mental illness or personality disorder was diagnosed. Despite this, Merrick was convicted by a jury of multiple charges, including sending explosive substances and possessing and distributing indecent images of children. He continues to deny the allegations, although he was found guilty in December of the previous year.

Judge Steiger condemned Merrick’s conduct, emphasizing the profound impact on the victims and the community. He described Merrick as a highly intelligent individual who took his interests to extreme lengths and noted the importance of the police and military efforts in bringing him to justice. Merrick was sentenced to seven years in prison for sending an explosive substance and was ordered to serve an additional five years on license upon release. He was also mandated to register as a sex offender and was issued a lifetime sexual offences prevention order, underscoring the seriousness of his crimes and the ongoing threat he posed.