A 28-year-old British Army chef has been sentenced to 46 months in prison after a homemade firearm and explosive materials, including gunpowder, were discovered in his bedroom, with a court establishing that his offences had a terrorist connection.
Mark Broadhurst was arrested by Counter Terrorism Police North East on September 25, 2024, while working at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, according to a statement published by the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Wednesday.
A subsequent search of his home in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, uncovered a homemade firearm and explosive powders.
Broadhurst pleaded guilty on March 13, 2026, at Sheffield Crown Court to possessing explosives and possessing a firearm without a firearm certificate.
Following a hearing that concluded in August, the court established that his possession of an explosive substance was connected to terrorism.
The CPS said evidence presented during the proceedings showed that Broadhurst had communicated for nearly two years on Facebook and Telegram with three convicted terrorists: Christopher Ringrose, Brogan Stewart and Marco Pitzettu.
According to the prosecution service, the group shared far-right and extremist views.
Ringrose, Stewart and Pitzettu were jailed for a combined 29 years in 2025 after being convicted of planning an act of terrorism, alongside other terrorism and firearms offences targeting Jewish and Muslim communities in northern England.
In a statement, Frank Ferguson, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Broadhurst had demonstrated an interest in violence and developing weapons capable of causing serious harm.
“Mark Broadhurst was clearly interested in violence and developing weapons that had the ability to cause untold harm to innocent people,” Ferguson said.
He added that Broadhurst had been immersed in extremist material and maintained prolonged contact with the three convicted terrorists, whom he said were inspired by Nazi SS tactics and supremacist ideology.
Ferguson said prosecutors relied on evidence recovered from Broadhurst’s electronic devices and online communications to establish the case against him.
“The prosecution was able to use evidence from Broadhurst’s own devices and online communications, which meant he had little choice but to admit his guilt,” he said.
“There was simply no legitimate or lawful explanation for Broadhurst having these illegal weapons and explosives inside his bedroom.”
The CPS said it would continue working with Counter Terrorism Policing to prosecute individuals who acquire weapons or explosives to advance extremist beliefs and to disrupt potential terrorist activity.
Broadhurst was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on October 14, 2026.
The CPS identified him as being from Grassmoor, Chesterfield, in Derbyshire.
