Three injured in Barclays bomb

A suburban branch of Barclays Bank was the scene of an explosion yesterday, 10 days after it was revealed that a maniac blackmailer calling himself "Mardi Gra" is waging a campaign of terror against the high street giant.

Police ruled out IRA involvement in the explosion in a busy shopping centre in Ealing, west London, which slightly injured one woman and two men.

What detectives called "a very small, improvised device" was placed in a container in a flower bed in an alleyway by the side of the bank in Uxbridge Road. It exploded about two yards from a wall where three cashpoints are located. One of the injured men was taken to hospital with superficial wounds to his legs but was expected to be released last night.

Earlier this month it emerged that the so-called "Mardi Gra" bomber had been terrorising Barclays and its officials for the past 16 months. He had posted or planted more than 25 devices and police feared he was planning to step up his campaign.

Scotland Yard said it was too early to confirm or deny a link between the blast and the Barclays bomber, but they firmly ruled out any Irish terrorist attack. "We do not believe it to be the work of the IRA," said a spokesman. "There was no warning given. There are lots of possibilities, and we will be investigating the theory that it is the Barclays blackmailer."

A spokesman for Barclays Bank said: "I understand it was a very small explosion. The person who was injured had no connection to the bank. The branch was closed at the time. I do not know where the explosion was exactly in relation to the bank."

He said any connection with the "Mardi Gra" campaign was "pure speculation at this stage".

Hannah Jeffery, 15, from Acton, said: "I was just leaving HMV when I heard a noise. The police took us into the shop and told us to stay there for 10 to 15 minutes. We weren't worried - we just carried on shopping."