Blast Shatters New Townhouse

Newcastle Herald

Saturday March 11, 2006

By BROOKE NEWSTEAD

RESIDENTS living around Islington Park say they have become so accustomed to homemade bombs being let off in the area that they don't bother calling the police anymore.

But nothing could prepare them for a mystery explosion that rocked a Maitland Road two-storey townhouse yesterday, shattering every window in the building and spraying glass as far as 40 metres.

Newcastle police called in an explosives expert to help find the cause of the explosion that ripped through the townhouse about 4am.

It ripped open the ceiling of the first floor rooms and buckled the aluminium window frames.

Detective Senior Constable Peter Cooper, of Newcastle police, said yesterday the cause of the explosion was being treated as "highly suspicious" because no gas had been connected to the townhouse, which was still under construction, and there had been no fire caused by the blast.

The townhouse was the only one of three that was affected.

It is the only one that has been sold.

Yesterday police spoke to the owner and the developer, while a forensics team scoured the area for clues.

A representative from Ian Power Developments attended the site yesterday, but he declined to comment on the explosion.

Senior Constable Cooper said patrons at the Gateway Hotel, which is about 50 metres from the townhouse, said the explosion had shaken the windows of the hotel.

"It will take some considerable time to determine what was used," he said.

While the blast woke most of the residents of nearby Power Street, residents said yesterday explosions were not uncommon in the area..

"It's not unusual to get a bang out here, but that was by far the loudest," Power Street resident Natasha Sambrook said.

Ms Sambrook said more recently, a bomb had been planted in a mini-fridge inside an industrial bin near the Gateway Hotel, and a St Vincent de Paul van that had been parked nearby to feed homeless people had been blown up.

Other residents, who asked not to be named for fear of the bombers targeting them, said explosions were commonly heard in Islington Park and in nearby bins.

Newcastle detectives are asking anyone with information to contact them on 4929 0999.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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