A ‘self radicalised’ soldier who became an EDL fanatic while constructing a potentially lethal nail bomb in his bedroom is facing jail today.

Ryan McGee, 20, constructed a homemade bomb packed with 181 metal screws, bits of glass and explosives inside a pickle jar which could have killed or maimed if detonated.

The device sparked a bomb scare after police discovered it while searching his home on Mellor Street, Eccles, as part of an unconnected investigation in November last year.

Experts say the powerful bomb was just a ‘simple step’ from completion.

Officers also discovered an arsenal of guns and knives and extremist right wing material in the first-floor bedroom, which was draped in English Defence League flags.

Crucially, bomb-making manual The Anarchist Cookbook was also found.

McGee admitted that between May 31 2013 and November 29 2013 at Salford he possessed a document containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

He has also pleaded guilty to a second charge that between September 1 2013 and September 3 2013 at Salford he made an explosive device.

Opening the facts of the case, Roger Smart said: "This case involves a young man, a serving soldier, who hand-made a viable bomb in the bedroom of his childhood home in Eccles.

"He surfed the internet, he bought supplies, and he watched videos and read books about how to make explosive devices."

Police originally raided the property as they suspected brother Steven, 20, of possessing child abuse images.

But following the discovery, Ryan - who was was serving in Paderborn, Germany, with 5th Battalion the Rifles - was detained at his barracks and returned to Britain.

Private McGee, a former Salford City Academy pupil, told officers he was ‘just experimenting’ with the ingredients but was charged and later admitted making explosives and possession of a document for terrorist purposes.

He joined the army in 2012 and had shown an interest in far-right parties such as the British National Party and the EDL since his early teens.

Disgusting racist rants posted on social media and kept in a handwritten diary revealed his hatred of immigration and admiration for Adolf Hitler and other far-right leaders.

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In March 2013 he attended an EDL rally in Manchester city centre and regularly uploaded pictures of himself wearing or posing with EDL clothing and flags.

His computer also contained footage of a neo-Nazi beheading in eastern Europe.

The bomb has been branded ‘viable’ by anti-terror officers and only needed to be hooked up to an electric current to become useable.

He had conducted internet searches on how to make detonators as well as experimenting with improvised booby traps.

Detectives did not find evidence McGee was planning a specific attack or had identified a target.

He remains a member of the armed forces but that is expected to be reviewed after his sentencing at the Old Bailey.

Bomb-maker posted vile racist rants and pictures on Facebook

BOMB-MAKING soldier Ryan McGee posted horrific racist rants on Facebook, appearing to call for violent action to be taken against immigrants.

One post on the BNP’s Facebook page said: “American, Irish, you make out Nazism (sic) is so bad but in my opinion Hitler was the best immigration officer Europe ever seen and he didnt take no s*** and let them all in he took action!”

In another thread he responded to members complaining about the effect of immigrants on their communities by posting: “Stop moaning then and do something!!”

He ‘liked’ the EDL, the BNP and its leader Nick Griffin, and serial killer Raoul Moat on his own Facebook page.

Other posts included one calling Nick Griffin a “f***ing legend” and another saying “We don’t need the European Union and we don’t need Europeans.”

McGee also posted several pictures of himself in EDL clothing and stood next to EDL flags.

One image even showed him dressed in a Ku Klux Klan costume next to a Confederate flag - which is widely regarded as a pro-slavery symbol.

The images were removed shortly after his arrest.