The bombs, buried deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, were crafted with such skill that a list of "usual suspects" was compiled by police.

Terrorists, animal rights extremists and racists were all on the list of those thought to be responsible for the homemade devices -- as was an explosives expert with military experience.

At one stage it was feared that a British Unabomber, emulating American Ted Kaczynski who terrorised the States with random bombings for 18 years, was behind the find.

It was also suggested that the bombs were part of a racist plot to blow-up the Notting Hill Carnival, which took place just days after the discovery. Others argued it was part of an operation to kill then Home Secretary Jack Straw, who has a weekend home at nearby Minster Lovell.

But after a complex investigation, police discovered a magistrate was to blame.

And the reason for the bombs was not a plan of terror and carnage but, it is believed, jealousy over a love rival.

The trail to Jonathan Wilkes began last August when a bomb was found in Syreford, Gloucestershire.

A week later a dog called Jessie alerted her owner to a patch of recently-disturbed land near Cuckoo Lane, Freeland, close to Wilkes's home.

This led to the discovery of the bombs, buried in a bin bag, and sparked a multi-agency investigation that included FBI psychologists, who were asked to create an offender profile.

Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch was also called in and the investigation was assisted by Gloucestershire Police and the Metropolitan Police.

The case was then highlighted on the BBC's Crimewatch programme, resulting in hundreds of calls from the public.

Police soon began to piece together the background to the case and the finger of suspicion kept pointing at Wilkes.

Simon Mayo, prosecuting, told the trial at Oxford Crown Court that it became evident that Wilkes began to harbour "extreme feelings of animosity" toward the new boyfriend of his ex-mistress Collette Cooper, by whom she had become pregnant.

At the beginning of 2000, Wilkes began to plot how he could eliminate his love rival, said Mr Mayo.

At the Oxfordshire Yeoman pub, Freeland, Wilkes spoke to two friends, Paul Whelan and Andy Kay, a former soldier.

Mr Whelan, who has lived in Freeland for 11 years and had been introduced to Wilkes by Mr Kay, told the court: "John was talking to Andy and asked him if he knew anybody who could get somebody knocked off."

He said that he took this to mean having someone seriously hurt or even killed.

Wilkes then spun the first of many lies designed to hide his true intentions.

Mr Whelan, a former RAF officer, said: "He said he knew a girl in the Bristol area who was a drug addict and was trying to kick the habit and unfortunately this drug pusher was impeding her rejection of drugs. He wanted to hurt him or get him killed.

"It all seemed very serious. It was spoken in lowered voices. Once the initial conversation was over we changed the subject."

Police were able to gather more evidence against Wilkes by analysing orders for components used to make the bombs which were placed in Oxford, Slough and Corby.

Officers discovered that a call had been made to RS Components, Corby, by a "Mr Cooper" who left a contact number.

This was traced to a phone registered to Mark Brown, the name of a former school friend of Wilkes.

Wilkes, who said he bought the phone to secretly contact his mistress, tried to explain the calls by saying he had been forced to buy the parts by a mystery blackmailer.

Police then discovered that the phone had also been used to contact model shops, gun clubs, plumbing suppliers and gun smiths. This included Toys R Us in Oxford, where he bought two radio controlled cars to get parts for the bombs.

Wilkes said that he had become suspicious of the motive behind the demands and wanted to know what the parts could be used for.

But components ordered in Corby carried a Milton Keynes address that was the real address of a company, RLS, Midsummer Boulevard, that the magistrate had been involved with.

Extensive enquiries in the community revealed several people or vehicles had been seen near the Freeland site.

The majority were traced and ruled out but the day before the bombs were found a resident saw two men and a vehicle about 100 yards from the cache. Both had shovels.

By now police were keen to speak to Wilkes but did not want to give the game away so they invited him to Witney police station to complete a fictitious form because his firearms licence had expired.

Officers actually wanted to get his fingerprints without alerting him to their investigations but, when Wilkes arrived, his fingertips were covered with plasters. The reason he gave was a skin complaint.

But when Wilkes was eventually confronted with the evidence he either lied or refused to comment, the court was told.

Police revealed that an MDF board found next to the Syreford bomb carried Wilkes's fingerprint. But he blamed the mystery blackmailer, saying that he had taken the board from Wilkes's garage.

He also said that the 1.5 litre Evian bottles used to make the bombs could have been taken from his garage recycling box by the blackmailer, a claim that police rejected with all the others.

The jury did too.