Haverhill man Gary Preston sent terror threats to schools

Some of the envelopes contained letters with threats such as "if I was you I would hold my breath and run in the name of Allah” and were signed off with the ISIS black flag. 

Two primary schools and multiple shopping centres were evacuated over fears of a potential biological or chemical attack, though the white substance turned out to be talcum powder. 

The plot thickened when DNA found on the letters was matched to an unidentified man who had carried out a horrific knifepoint sex attack in Rainham in 1988. 

On Tuesday, the full details of this case were revealed publicly when terror hoaxer and sex attacker Gary Preston, from Haverhill in west Suffolk, appeared in court after he pleaded guilty to 21 terror charges and the 1988 indecent assault.   

'Warped' individual Gary Preston, a white non-Muslim, sent the envelopes as he wanted to cause fear and panic (Image: Suffolk police)

‘Run in the name of Allah’  

Over the course of six weeks in 2013 a total of 21 envelopes were sent to schools, shopping centres and businesses across the country, prosecutor Maryam Syed told the court. 

They contained a white powder – talcum powder – which the sender had intended would be mistaken as a deadly poison, possibly ricin. 

Some of the envelopes contained letters with threats such as “if I was you I would hold my breath and run in the name of Allah”, “think fast, you have seconds inshallah”, “there are improvised explosive devices planted” and “we have hostages and any attempts to rescue they will meet their fate”.    

The targets included primary schools in Braintree - Lyons Hall Primary School and St Michael's Church of England Primary School.  

“The white powder was immediately assumed to be a very dangerous chemical,” Ms Syed said.  

“The concern and fear of the people who opened the letters was not just for workers and themselves, but also for the children.”  

Linked to a 1988 cold case 

Though most of the addresses were printed and stuck on envelopes, several had been written by hand and DNA was found. 

Officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) who oversaw the counter-terror investigation checked DNA against the police database and found it matched an unidentified individual who had sexually assaulted a woman in 1988.  

At about 8am on a morning in January 1988, a woman in her 20s entered the women’s public toilets in Cherry Tree Lane in Rainham while her husband waited outside in a car, prosecutor Ms Syed said. 

As she walked out of a cubicle she was grabbed by the throat from behind and a knife was forced against her neck.  

Preston escaped justice for the Cherry Tree Lane attack for over three decades (Image: Street view)

‘I’ve always been a joker’ 

While officers had linked the bomb hoaxer to the 1988 sexual assault, they were not able to identify a suspect. 

But a series of incidents in 2020 led police to believe that their mystery man was 65-year-old Preston.

In summer 2020 Preston phoned the fire brigade and told them he had taken a deadly substance called ricin. 

Preston's previous convictions included two sexual offences, as he had exposed his penis to a woman from the window of his house in 1979 and to a woman in a pub in Rainham in 1982.

At 6.50am on September 16, 2020, Preston was arrested on suspicion of 21 terror offences and indecent assault. 

When he was interviewed by police, he told them he suffered from dementia. 

Preston was released under investigation.  

Brought to justice 

Preston pleaded guilty to offences including dangerous driving and possession of an imitation firearm and last February he was jailed for three years and four months.

After he was detained in HMP Chelmsford, Preston appeared at Woolwich Crown Court in August 2023 where he pleaded guilty to 21 charges brought under anti-terror laws. 

He admitted to sending 21 envelopes “with the intention of inducing in a person a belief that it is likely to be, or contain, a noxious substance or other noxious thing and thereby endanger human life or create a serious risk to human health”. 

Targeting schools illustrated his "warped mindset", the head of ERSOU’s counter terrorism unit said at the time.

Then three months later at Snaresbrook Crown Court he pleaded guilty to indecent assault and possession of an offensive weapon. 

Both of these charges related to the 1988 sexual assault in Rainham.

Preston appeared at Woolwich Crown Court via videolink from HMP Chelmsford (Image: PA)On Tuesday, Preston appeared at Woolwich Crown Court via videolink from HMP Chelmsford to be sentenced for the terror offences and 1988 indecent assault. 

Defending Preston, barrister Steven Dyble said no mental health issues could be offered as mitigation for his behaviour. 

After hearing the facts of the case and Preston’s mitigation a judge adjourned sentencing until April, warning Preston that he probably faces a lengthy prison sentence.