A GWENT man was jailed for three years after a pipe bomb he made was handed to police, leading to an evacuation and town centre chaos.

Residents within a 100 metre radius were told they had ten minutes to evacuate homes after the bomb scare in Risca town centre.

The road was closed to vehicles and massive traffic disruption was caused, with residents stepping in to help direct queues of traffic.

Mark Wise, from Pontypool, was sentenced to three years in prison at Newport Crown Court for making the potentially fatal explosives.

The 51-year-old, from Oaklands Road, Sebastopol, had made the pipe bomb and bag of explosives which a member of public found and handed to officers at Risca Police Station on March 4.

The bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion with a robot, no-one was hurt.

Chris Powell, of Howard’s Butchers in Risca, reported at the time how the town was in absolute chaos.

42-year-old Mr Powell said: “It was bedlam for us. My father had to go onto the road to direct the traffic.”

Judge Tom Crowther QC also ordered Wise’s explosive equipment to be destroyed.

At a hearing on August 4, Wise pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to two counts of making explosive substances between December 1 last year and February 27, 2014.

Wise had previously pleaded not guilty in June to making an explosive substance, including relating to making a nail bomb and pipe bomb.

Inspector Vicki Townsend of Gwent Police said: “This incident caused disruption to businesses and residents while the cordon was in place and we remain grateful for their co-operation.

“We hope that the conviction and sentence will serve as a warning to others.”