PEOPLE living in a Cwmbran street say they are living in fear after a metal lamppost was blown up with a home-made pipe-bomb.

The pipe-bomb was set in the base of a lamp post at the back of the Leadon Road flats at Thornhill.

It exploded at 2.07am on Sunday, waking residents, but it wasn't until later that day that police discovered the source of the blast.

PC Amanda Thomas of Cwmbran CID said: "The explosion was heard as far away as Croesyceiliog.

"We had a call from someone on the street to say he'd found a six-inch section of a pipe bomb.

"It's a metal pole that's been hammered into shape and it was placed inside the lamp post itself, and it appears that an electrical detonation device had been used to set it off.

"It blew the lamp post up from the middle outwards so it must have been quite a forceful blast.

"Whoever built this knows exactly what they're doing. We're hoping we can send this fragment off to get it analysed and find out what the bomb was made of.

"Our main concern is that other lamp post casings had been removed so this could well happen again.

"One caller said she had seen a group of youths but couldn't identify them.

"The fragments that came from the blast could do considerable damage and I don't think whoever's setting them can realise the impact that it might be causing."

PC Ken Waters, pictured, the new beat officer for Thornhill, was first on the scene. He said: "The lamp post isn't totally destroyed but whoever's put this in there has split the metal and blown the light out at the top.

"If somebody was stood directly in front of they could have been injured. And whoever made it could be at risk as well."

Leadon Court resident Danielle Williams, 19, who is three months pregnant, was woken by the blast. She said: "Being pregnant I'm sleeping badly anyway, so I heard it all.

"Someone's blown the lid off the bin up the road as well. There's fireworks all the time.

"It's never been this bad before. It's a lot worse than last year."

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the bomb to call them on 01633 642090.