20 August 2012 Last updated at 10:22 ET

Men in court over Staffordshire explosions

Three men have appeared in court charged with conspiracy to blackmail over three explosions in Staffordshire.

Police were called to homes in Blythe Bridge, Cheadle and Weston Coyney after reports of explosions on 3 August.

Jason Taft, 40, of Greenfields Farm, Stoke-on-Trent, was charged with Thomas Richard Lesley, 54, and Thomas Lesley, 34, a father and son from Belfast.

Magistrates in Fenton remanded the men in custody to appear before Stoke Crown Court on 28 August.

Police said no-one was injured in the incidents and the three homes sustained "minimal damage".

A man aged 44, who was also arrested over the incident, has been released on police bail.

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