A 59-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for an attempted pipe bomb attack on East Belfast GAA.

In September of this year, John Wilson was found guilty of three counts of attempted intimidation and one count of possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.

He was today sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment, with 18 months to be served in prison and 18 months on licence.

The offences relate to devices left on vehicles parked close to facilities used by East Belfast GAA on 5 August, 2020 – the GAA club was formed in May 2020.

The PSNI has received a 999 call from a public phone box alleging that four pipe bombs had been left at the Henry Jones Playing Fields used by East Belfast GAA.

A PSNI spokesperson noted that at the time of the call, an East Belfast GAA team were training at the complex.

Police immediately attended the scene and carried out searches until the following day, but at that time no devices were found.

However, later that afternoon, three people made contact with police to report that they had located suspicious objects on their vehicles, which had been parked while they attended training.

One of these objects was a screwdriver, while forensic testing established that the other two were crude pipe bombs.

Close-up image of East Belfast GAA jersey East Belfast GAA East Belfast GAA

The PSNI said that in each case, those who had the objects left on their vehicles felt intimidated and that this was an attempt to prevent East Belfast GAA from training at the playing fields.

Wilson was arrested on 6 August 2020 and despite CCTV footage showing him entering the public phone box from which the call was made, he denied that he had made the call and instead claimed he was on his way to a local takeaway.

Wilson continued to deny any involvement until much later, when he changed his story to state that he had made the phone call under threat from people he feared might harm his family.

He also maintained that he had not left the objects on the vehicles.

However, examination of Wilson’s phone uncovered “incriminating and sectarian messages”.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “There is no place in our society for any action motivated by hate.

“Had these pipe bombs exploded, they could have caused significant damage – not to mention injury, or worse.

“Substantial disruption was caused in the community and the victims were left shaken and scared when all they were doing was taking part in a sporting activity they loved.

“No-one should be left in fear when going about their lives.”

Meanwhile, the PSNI encouraged anyone with information or concerns on hate-related activity to make a report and added: “We will always act on concerns and information from the community.”