A NAIL bomber who terrorised North Yorkshire and the rest of the country was this afternoon sent indefinitely to a mental institution.

Glynn Harding, 27, a paranoid schizophrenic, can only be freed by permission of the Home Secretary under the order laid down by Judge Elgan Edwards at Chester Crown Court.

The judge, the Recorder of Chester, told Harding, of Minshull New Road, Crewe, his letter bomb campaign was "pure evil".

He said that had Harding not been severely mentally ill, he would have received a life sentence for his crimes.

But the public could be reassured that the order under the Mental Health Act would mean that in all likelihood Harding would not be released for many, many years.

Harding pleaded guilty earlier this year to sending a total of 15 explosive packages to individuals across the country whom he suspected of having links with animal cruelty.

His targets included an agricultural supplier in Masham, an estate agent dealing in livestock in Patrington, East Yorkshire, and a 58-year-old farm worker from Ripon.

In each case, he attached detonators to packages filled with gunpowder and shrapnel, such as nails and ball bearings.

His campaign ran from December last year to February this year, and was brought to an end by a massive investigation led by North Yorkshire police.

Updated: 13:39 Friday, September 21, 2001