Man made petrol bombs in Southampton car park, trial told

Thomas Platt, 34, is on trial at Southampton Crown Court accused of making an explosive substance for an unlawful purpose.

He and a friend were seen in a car park at Millbrook Road East in a silver Ford Fiesta.

Witness, Amanda Wood, told the jury she had been visiting a friend in the area when she saw the pair arguing in the car.

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When she went into her friend's flat she noticed Platt “acting suspiciously” in the communal bin area.

She told the jury that he left the bin area with two brown glass ale bottles in his hand before getting a petrol canister out of the boot of the car.

The men are then said to have poured petrol into the bottles before ripping up a towel and placing the cloth in the top.

The Molotov cocktails were then taped up and put into the boot.

Platt, of Shirley Park Road, Southampton was arrested at Jordan House and taken to hospital before being transferred into custody.

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He was initially arrested on suspicion of being in possession of an offensive weapon, with the officer in the case telling the jury police were “concerned that he was looking to cause harm to somebody”.

But Platt told Southampton Crown Court that he planned to take the bottles home and start a bonfire with them.

“I had a lot of issues going on at that time.

“I should have done this at home really but me and my pal thought it would be a good idea to fill bottles with petrol and take them home to do a bonfire.

“My decision-making was a big incoherent due to the fact my addiction was rife at that time.”

Millbrook Road East. (Image: Newsquest.)

He added that he had been taken to hospital due to a “small injury” and his mental health.

He said he had the petrol because the fuel gauge was broken on his car so he carried it in the boot at all times.

But prosecuting, Aleks Lloyd suggested that Platt had “lost his temper” and didn’t plan to use them for a bonfire.

During the course of the incident, his father John arrived in a white Jaguar and “tried to reason with him”.

He told the court that as a carpenter, Platt would often start fires because the pandemic meant they couldn’t take the waste to the tip.

He added that these blazes would be started with “anything at hand”.

The trial continues.