Steven Bishop, 41, was obsessed with the Manchester Arena attack, which saw an extremist suicide bomber kill 22 people in May 2017, and the death of its youngest victim eight-year-old Saffie Roussos.

Using encrypted apps and forums on the dark web, he bought bomb making equipment and manuals last year.

Similar forums were also used by New Zealand’s Christchurch terrorist prior to his mosque attacks last month which left 50 people dead.

The UK extremist, who is an alcoholic and drug addict from Thornton Health, south London, was caught after he made chilling remarks about his plans to a support worker.

He confessed to purchasing an app to encrypt his phone and said he was going to commit a suicide mission on the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, near his address, using a home-made bomb.

Counter-terrorism police raided his home last October and found a suitcase in a shed at his address containing the materials for an improvised detonator and a recipe for making explosives.

A remote-controlled firework firing system was delivered to his house after his arrest.

Detectives discovered that just days prior to his apprehension he had been searching online for articles on the Manchester bombing and for “Saffie Rose memorial”.

He had also viewed videos about the Manchester, London Bridge and Paris terrorist attacks.

Bishop then used Facebook mentioning her, warning: “Don't worry something bad is going to happen soon mark my words.”

Commander Clarke Jarrett head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command said: "From our investigation it was clear Bishop stockpiled a quantity of fireworks and other component parts with the intention of creating a device that he was intending to use to target a mosque. Thanks to the diligence of his key worker in alerting us we were able to intervene before he could progress with his plans any further and crucially, nobody came to any harm.

"Given Bishop was focused upon a mosque, and in light of recent events in New Zealand, we also know that Muslim and other faith communities may be feeling particularly concerned and vulnerable. Specialist officers continue to provide support and protective security advice to mosques, and indeed all places of worship across the UK on how to best keep their buildings and visitors safe."

Bishop pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial at Kingston Crown Court in London on Monday to possession of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or cause damage to property contrary to the Explosives Substance Act 1883.

Previously he had admitted possessing information likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism, after a handwritten note on how to make explosives was found at his home.

At an earlier hearing, prosecutors described him as a “dangerous and unpredictable man who has a violent past”.

Judge Peter Lodder QC told him there was “clearly a terrorist context” to the offence and he is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

Source: The National, UAE