An animal rights activist has been jailed for five and a half years for his part in firebombing an Oxfordshire meat factory, causing £40,000 worth of damage.

David Blenkinsop, 36, of Broadhurst Manor Road, Horstead, West Sussex, admitted possessing, and aiding others to construct, incendiary devices to destruct property.

The Animal Liberation Front activist helped blow up a delivery lorry at Mutchmeats processing plant in Newclose Lane, Witney, with a home-made bomb.

Oxford Crown Court heard that he used plastic bottles, petrol and fireworks to create eight other bombs found under lorries at the factory in May 2000. They failed to ignite.

Prosecuting, John Price said he had endangered the lives of innocent workers.

Blenkinsop also admitted making 15 devices used to blow up cars belonging to employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences, near Cambridge, in August 2000.

He is already serving a four and a half year prison sentence, including three years for attacking the laboratory's managing director with a wooden club.

Defending, Stephen Camlish insisted Blenkinsop would never have made the bombs had he known lives were at risk.

He produced a letter in court from writer Carla Lane, who owns an animal sanctuary in Horstead, describing him as "caring, generous and trustworthy".

But sentencing Blenkinsop, Judge Anthony King said: "You, as an intelligent person, must have had at least some idea of the reason why these devices were going to be used."

Animal Liberation Front spokesman Keith Mann said: "He's not the first person to go to prison for something like this, and he won't be the last."

Blenkinsop's sentence will run consecutively with his current sentence. Mutchmeats declined to comment.