MUSLIM convert Nicky Reilly appeared via video-link from the high- security Belmarsh prison to plead guilty to launching his doomed terrorist attack on a Westcountry restaurant.

The 22-year-old admitted plotting what his barrister described as an "ugly and dangerous incident" at the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter in May.

He used the Internet to research how to make his bombs using caustic soda, paraffin and about 500 nails. But when he attempted to assemble one of the soft-drink glass bottle bombs in a toilet cubicle of the restaurant, it exploded in his hands.

In the public gallery of the Old Bailey's Court 12, his mother Kim seemed to wipe away tears as he told the court he was guilty of attempted murder and a second charge of preparing a terrorist attack. He is due to be sentenced on November 21 after psychological reports have been completed.

During the 45-minute hearing it emerged that Reilly – who was charged under the name Mohammad Rashid Saeed Alim – had "long nursed an ambition" to become a martyr.

He had considered targeting high- profile sites in his home city of Plymouth, including Devonport Dockyard, Drake Circus shopping centre and Charles Cross police station.

Instead he travelled on a bus to Exeter and made his way to the restaurant where the ingredients of his makeshift bombs exploded prematurely.

Reilly, of King Street, Plymouth, was arrested when he staggered out of the restaurant after suffering serious facial injuries in the blast on May 22.

As the judge, Mr Justice Calvert- Smith, read detailed papers relating to the case, Reilly took deep breaths but appeared relaxed and showed no obvious signs of the injuries he sustained in the blast.

The court heard Reilly had begun planning his attack early this year and from January started looking at Internet websites to research how to assemble a suicide vest. He also watched a video on the website YouTube entitled "Home-made bombs". He was also in "frequent contact" with two people via the Internet, which included a debate about who to target in an attack. The pair have still not been traced by police.

Mr Justice Calvert-Smith said: "He bought more than necessary equipment over those months to construct two types of improvised devices, one using caustic soda and the other kerosene. He appears to have tried to increase the potential for injury and death both to himself and others by putting chemicals in glass bottles and filling those bottles with a total of around 500 nails."

On the morning of May 22, he travelled to Exeter by bus from Plymouth with six bottles, three containing caustic soda, three kerosene and another chemical contained in drain cleaner.

Kerim Fuad, defending, said at the time of sentencing that he wanted to present a statement and a psychiatric report for the court. He said he had a wealth of material to put to the judge on Reilly's "unusual and complex personal background which led to this ugly and dangerous incident".

Reilly had planned to run into the restaurant from the toilets holding three bottle bombs to his stomach. But the first one reacted prematurely and he could not get out of the cubicle.

Prosecutor Stuart Baker said: "His recollection now is that he was unable to open the lock of the cubicle door and come out, by which time the first device had already exploded."

The judge said: "There is evidence from materials seized that he became increasingly drawn to violent action in support of fellow Muslims in revenge for perceived persecution and to the idea of becoming a martyr."

During yesterday's hearing, Reilly's mother Kim was comforted by a police family liaison officer. In an interview she said her son was incapable of making the devices without "instructions or guidance from someone".

Mrs Reilly said her son was "a vulnerable person who has been radicalised", adding that he was an "easy target, easy prey for them".

"Nicky is so vulnerable, he has got special needs, he has got Asperger's Syndrome," she said. "All I can say is what Nicky was like. They have brainwashed him. He's done the work and they are walking free."

Mrs Reilly, whose second son Luke is also in jail, said Nicky needed to be in hospital rather than prison.

Referring to her son's conversion to Islam, she said he had changed because of "all the people that he was hanging around with".

"He believed that he was on the right path, he'd found the right religion and this was the right way of life," she said. "But Nicky could have met people from any faith – if someone befriended him that would have been the path he would have taken."

She did, however, admit to being concerned by her son's increasingly extremist view of the world.

Mrs Reilly has made several trips to see her son in Belmarsh prison, which houses other convicted terrorists. A card written by Reilly to his mother from prison reads: "To the queen of my heart – my mum. Just to say how much I love and miss you. You are my lovely, beautiful mother. Love you, Nicky."