A chef is facing a lengthy jail term after being convicted yesterday of planning to bomb Gatwick airport. Jose Pestana, 41, was found guilty at Lewes crown court of planning to plant a home-made device at a restaurant at Gatwick.
He sparked a terrorist alert in March when police found two bombs hidden under a sofa at his flat in Crawley, West Sussex, a few miles from the airport.
The trial heard that he had planned to take revenge on his former employer, Garfunkel's restaurant at Gatwick, after it refused a £1m compensation claim for an injury he suffered while working as a chef in 1995.
The bombs, consisting of a tube full of firework gunpowder strapped to two gas cylinders, were discovered by police searching his home over alleged theft of electricity. Pestana, from Madeira, Portugal, was arrested under the Terrorism Act.
In a letter to a Portuguese immigration officer, Pestana had written that he would "become a terrorist" if he did not get help in his damages claim. Detectives said later that he had no terrorist links.
The judge, David Rennie, told him: "Before deciding how long I should send you to prison for, I need the help of a psychiatrist to decide if you pose a risk."
Pestana was remanded in custody.
He claimed that he had only built the bombs to let off on New Year's Eve. Speaking through an interpreter, he said: "I was going to light them and throw them in the air to see the colours."
But his flatmate, who also worked at Garfunkel's, said he "ranted constantly" about his compensation claim. Pestana was angry that he had received only £22,000. He was later sacked.
