19 dramatic scenes of IRA bombings in Blackpool when firebombs struck the town centre in 1939 and 1991

Between 1939 and 1940, the re-emergence of Irish Republican Army activity saw terror and confusion spread throughout the UK, including Blackpool.

In August 1939 Central Police Station, the Town Hall and a sidestreet by Tower Circus were all targeted. The first bomb damaged the front of the Town Hall with such severity that it rocked’ the building and the clock stopped due to the sheer force of the explosion.

The second attempt was on the resort’s Police Station but thankfully an anonymous visitor alerted the officers to the 12 sticks of gelignite found in the grounds so the bomb never went off.

Finally a balloon bomb was hidden in a dustbin in a narrow high-street which divided Woolworths from the Tower Circus.

The bomb’s discovery was made by two Blackpool Tower watchmen, Ernie Sanderson and Isaac Melling, who spotted flames coming from the bin.

And then, in 1991, the town was on high-alert after time-triggered incendiary devices caused a series of blazes at shops, entertainment venues and public buildings across Blackpool.

The wave of terror culminated in 17 IRA devices planted at different sites across the town centre, some were unarmed or found before they exploded while others detonated.

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