Gary Desmond Martin

Constable Martin was killed at 2:50pm when a terrorist bomb exploded in a lorry that had been abandoned and was obstructing the thoroughfare near the junction of Glen Road and Shaw’s Road in Andersontown, Belfast.

The officer and his colleagues diverted traffic from the area before inspecting and moving the lorry. An inspector had checked the driver’s cabin but didn’t find anything.

Gary then volunteered to drive away the lorry and as he was getting into the cabin he put his hand on the seat and the lorry exploded. A mercury-tilt switch had been placed under the seat to detonate the bomb.