Woman guilty of criminal damage after city attacks

A woman has been found guilty of causing criminal damage after targeting the BBC, McDonald's and Starbucks in a series of attacks.

Martha Goddard, 51, carried out the offences in Norwich last year and was captured on CCTV setting alight to improvised incendiary devices.

After a 12-day trial at Woolwich Crown Court in London, the jury found her guilty of six counts of causing criminal damage and making an explosive substance by a majority verdict.

The jury found her not guilty of attempting to cause explosions and of all charges relating to an attack on the Tacolneston transmitting station in south Norfolk.

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

During the five-month campaign between March and July 2025, Goddard set off homemade devices filled with a pyrotechnic chemical compound called thermite, which caused damage to buildings.

She set the devices alight using sparklers outside the BBC studios located in the Forum building in Norwich, two Starbucks cafes in the city and the McDonald's restaurant in Haymarket.

The attacks caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, the court heard.

Goddard was also accused of targeting the Tacolneston transmitting station, which is used for digital TV and radio, after the site suffered £1m worth of damage after a fire.

She was acquitted of all charges related to the incident.

Goddard was arrested in October, at which point the attacks using thermite stopped in the Norwich area.

Police found Goddard had ordered to her home several kilograms of substances used to make thermite, a pyrotechnic that creates intense, extremely hot chemical reactions.

After mixing the substances, the trial heard she poured them into bottles and put holes in lids to fit sparklers into, which she then set alight.

Items that could be mixed to create gunpowder were also found at her home.

During the trial, explosive experts said thermite does not cause explosions in the conventional sense, but legally it could still be treated as an explosive substance.

The jury found her guilty of making an explosive substance by a majority verdict and not guilty of attempting to cause explosions.

Homemade posters that included slogans such as "Stop Bombing Gaza" and called the BBC "cowards" over its coverage of the conflict were left at the scenes of the offences.

The posters became key in identifying her as a suspect after her fingerprints were found on them.

CCTV footage of the incidents also captured her wearing clothing, including a camouflage jacket and a black hat, which were found at her home in Sarah Williman Close, Norwich.

Confession letters were also found on her computer, in which she discussed carrying out the Norwich attacks, the court heard.

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