mermaid
Andy Star, 31, owner of the Mermaid Fish Bar in Chesterfield, and Farhad Salah, 22, both of Iraqi origin, are alleged to have been in possession of a 'low explosive black powder'. Mermaid Fish Bar / Facebook

The owner of a Yorkshire fish and chip shop and another man have appeared in court accused of planning to build a remote control car bomb for a Christmas attack on the UK.

Andy Sami Star, 31, and Farhad Salah, 22, both of Iraqi origin, were arrested on 19 December in a series of early morning raids in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

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The pair appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court via video link from Leeds Magistrates Court on Friday (29 December).

Star, from Chesterfield, and Salah, from Sheffield, are charged with preparing an act of terrorism after allegedly planning to build an IED that would be placed inside a driverless car.

The court heard that the accusation that they were in the early stages of a plot that would have used a laptop controlling a vehicle and then detonating a device.

Prosecutor Thomas Halpin told the court according to the MailOnline: "Both are jointly charged with a single offence of preparation to commit acts of terrorism.

He added: "This is a case in which the Crown say both defendants were researching, developing and manufacturing chemicals to make explosive substances so they could be used in an IED with a view to committing acts in the UK."

The pair were among four people arrested by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing North East following an intelligence-led operation.

The court heard Star, who owns the Mermaid Fish and Chip Bar on Sheffield Road in Chesterfield, and Salah are accused of possessing a "low explosive black powder", the court was told.

A lawyer for Star, Sajad Chaudhury, told the court: "The offence is denied and at the first opportunity at the Crown Court he will indicate a not guilty plea."

It was reported that Star arrived in the UK from Iraqi Kurdistan around ten years ago and has been granted indefinite leave to stay in the UK.

South Yorkshire Police have a 36-year-old man from Sheffield in custody after the raids earlier this month while a 41-year-old from Sheffield was released from custody on Saturday.

The pair were remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on 19 January.

UK crime Christmas