A NORTH West Euro-MP targeted with a letter bomb this week has urged his colleagues to be on full alert against similar attacks.

The bomb, apparently sent by Italian anarchists, was delivered to the offices of the British Labour's European party leader, Gary Titley MEP, in Radcliffe, Bury near Manchester, at around 11.30am on Monday, December 5.

It is believed to have been held at a Royal Mail depot disguised in a jiffy-bag envelope with a number of other letters, parcels and packages over the Christmas and New Year period.

It exploded after one of Mr Titley's two members of staff opened the sealed envelope with the rest of the morning post.

Mr Titley's office manager, Roger Fellows, said: "My colleague had finished opening a mountain of post and, after tearing open the last item, quickly saw smoke billowing out of it.

"She dropped it onto the desk as it burst into flames and had the presence of mind to knock it on the floor away from electrical equipment. Unfortunately it then ignited a bin bag full of used envelopes and rubbish which caused most of the fire damage.

"It was only after extinguishing the flames that we realised what had happened and linked it to the similar package sent to EC President, Romano Prodi, over the Christmas period.

"I have worked here for more than ten years but this the first time anything of this kind has taken place and thankfully nobody was hurt.

"The only lasting damage done was to the office furnishings but the police and Royal Mail are now helping us heighten our security to ensure that Mr Titley is not a further target.

"And Mr Titley would like to back up any European Parliament or inter-party warnings and encourage all MEP offices to be extra vigilant in light of our experiences."

Four identical packages addressed to various senior MEPs have also been intercepted by mail scanning systems at European Parliament in Brussels. A spokeswoman for Mr Titley's fellow Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy said: "Since 9/11 all politicians have been advised to be alert and this latest incident should reinforce that.

"The European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg already have the facility to scan all incoming mail for explosive devices or harmful substances.

"But, due to the sheer volume of mail that MEPs receive, it's impractical to monitor every letter or package which comes into the office.

"It may be that, in the future, certain targets and party group leaders, such as Mr Titley, will be offered a permanent extension of this facility.

"We're just glad that, in this case, nobody was hurt."

Local Liberal Democrat Euro-MP, Chris Davies said: "There is no rythme or reason behind these attacks.

"The truth is that MEPs open very little of the mail that arrives daily at their offices.

"The victims are much more likely to be completely innocent people out of the public eye."