The outlier who made incendiary devices for attacks

The neighbours of a woman guilty of a series of attacks targeting the BBC, McDonalds and Starbucks have described her as an outlier who would practise martial arts with a samurai sword in public.

Martha Goddard, 51, was found guilty on Tuesday of carrying out a campaign of criminal damage using homemade incendiary devices in Norwich after a 12-day trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Goddard mixed the chemicals used to carry out the attacks at her home in the quiet cul-de-sac of Sarah Williman Close, Norwich.

At the time of her arrest, Gary Reynolds, 64, who lives on the road, said: "At 06:00 BST, I came out to go to work and saw the riot police were outside her house - it was really concerning."

"We thought someone had been murdered at first.

"There were policemen in ordinary suits, just walking about, and there were lots of police vans and police cars," he added.

Cindy Reynolds, 64, said: "She used to take a samurai sword down by the river [and practise martial arts]... which frightened the kids.

"We just thought she was weird so we just left her to get on with it, really."

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"She wasn't threatening or anything like that.

"She was very weird in other ways as well, because she used to just come out in the front garden in her underwear," Cindy added.

Camera footage captured by doorbell cameras and CCTV on neighbouring houses was used as part of the prosecution's case against Goddard.

The eastern Counter Terrorism Policing unit searched her home after she was arrested in October 2025, where they found evidence that linked her to the attacks, which caused shock in the otherwise quiet community.

Inside her home, officers also found materials that could be used to make gunpowder.

Goddad was found guilty of five counts of criminal damage and two counts of making explosives.

She caused thousands of pounds of damage through the attacks carried out at the McDonald's restaurant in the Haymarket, two Starbucks outlets in the city and outside the BBC offices located inside the Forum building.

Confession letters were found on her computer, in which she described carrying out the attacks in Norwich.

Clothing including a camouflage jacket and woolly hat matched outfits she was seen wearing on CCTV footage during all of the attacks in Norwich.

Documents on her computer also included drafts of the posters she placed at the scenes of the incidents, which displayed slogans in support of Palestine and Palestinians such as "Stop Bombing Gaza".

Her fingerprints were later found on some of these posters.

Goddard had also ordered several kilograms of materials used to make thermite, a chemical compound that causes intense heat to be produced when lit.

Her defence claimed a note, which directed deliveries to be taken to her neighbour if she was not in, showed Goddard did not have a "guilty mind", her defence barrister said.

Goddard was found not guilty of attempting to cause explosions and was cleared of all charges related to a fire at the Tacolneston transmitting station in south Norfolk.

She is due to be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on 16 October.

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