BRITAIN:Police investigating the recent spate of letter bomb attacks reached "a very significant stage" in their inquiry yesterday with the arrest of a primary school caretaker.
However, police coupled confirmation of the arrest of the man in his 20s, later named as Miles Cooper, with a warning that another device might still be in the postal system and a renewed call for public vigilance.
Police also signalled that they anticipated a search lasting "several days" at the house in Cherry Hinton, near Cambridge, where they made the arrest.
They were also searching the Teversham Church of England primary school, where Mr Cooper works, with the co-operation of the headmaster and the county council.
Nine people have been injured by letter bombs sent over a three- week period, including four workers hurt when a device exploded at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority in Swansea.
The first three devices were sent to forensic laboratories in Oxfordshire and the West Midlands area, prompting speculation that the attacks could be the work either of a disgruntled motorist or an animal rights activist.
Police have so far refused to speculate on the motive for the attacks, some of which they have been able to link. The inquiry team has also been liaising with Cambridgeshire Police about a letter bomb attack on a Labour Party office in Cambridge last August.
Anton Setchell, the Association of Chief Police Officers' national co-ordinator for domestic extremism, described yesterday's arrest as "a very significant development".
However, he warned: "At this stage I am not able to guarantee that there is not another postal package containing an explosive device within the postal system."
Reminding the public that the previous seven devices had been contained in A5 Jiffy-type bags, he went on: "I am therefore renewing my request for the public to maintain their vigilance and not to handle any post which appears in any way suspicious."
While the arrested man was being held at an undisclosed police station, Mr Stechell said he anticipated forensic teams would continue their search for several days. The investigation, he said, was continuing, with a number of lines of inquiry being pursued.