The residents of the sleepy village of Mumbil were mostly unaware there were two explosive devices sitting on the roadside near the railway line yesterday afternoon.
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Guarded by a police officer from the Wellington Police Station, who was waiting for a member of the Bomb Squad from Bathurst to arrive, the devices were hidden in a grassy area near cattle and cars travelling by.
Wellington Police ordered in the bomb squad to check out two devices believed to be similar to those which formed part of the case against Liverpool man Ryan Paget, who appeared in Orange Local Court on Tuesday morning.
The night before a resident had alerted police about a large bang going off.
A 33-year-old Liverpool man charged with having an alleged explosive device in his vehicle was simply involved in a prank, according to his solicitor.
"He is not some bomb-making jihadist," legal aid solicitor Gerry Stapleton told the court.
"He is not some bomb-making jihadist,"
- Gerry Stapelton, legal aid solictor
"It must be a slow media day with everyone chasing headlines as there are cameras outside the court and media inside."
Ryan Paget sat in the dock charged with being in possession of an explosive device and being in possession of small amounts of cannabis and methamphetamine after he was arrested by Orange Police on Monday night.
Paget was granted strict conditional bail by deputy registrar Matthew Tedeschi on the condition he can come up with a surety of $1000.
Sergeant Glenn Griffith, prosecuting on behalf of police, opposed bail for Paget saying the device found in the vehicle of the accused not only posed a threat to the community but to the police officers who searched the vehicle.
"It was made from modified fireworks," Sgt Griffith said.
The court also heard a similar device had been discharged earlier on a road at Mumbil and police were investigating the possible link.
Sgt Griffith told the court Paget had a criminal history and no ties to the Orange area, both of which were a cause for concern for police who thought he might be a flight risk.
The court heard part of Paget's criminal history involved violence.
Mr Tedeschi, in considering the bail application, noted two previous driving while disqualified offences by the accused.
Mr Tedeschi imposed a daily reporting condition to Liverpool Police Station until the accused returns to Orange Local Court later this month.
He also told Paget if he couldn't come up with the required $1000 surety by the end of the day he would have to spend the night in Bathurst jail.
The passenger who was in the vehicle with Paget at the time of the search and arrest was granted police bail on Monday night.
The two men were arrested by police on Monday night after a bomb was found in their car.
The men, aged 35 and 50, were travelling along Burrendong Way when they were stopped at 10.40pm on Monday by police who had received an anonymous tip-off.
The Canobolas Highway Patrol officers searched the car and found drugs and an explosive device.
The bomb is described as the size of a tennis ball, covered in electrical tape with a fuse.
A bomb technician from Bathurst Police Station was called in, who confirmed the device was an improvised explosive device.
Police do not believe it was a terrorist plot.
In Mumbil residents said they were not really aware of the drama which had unfolded earlier in the day.
One local, who was at the Mumbil Hall said this was the place where it all happened.
"There hasn't been this much drama since the murder which is an ongoing cold case," she said.
Detectives have investigations into the shooting death of then 30-year-old Charles Avouris about July 1, 1996.
The victim was shot in the head with a small-calibre firearm, which had never been found.
