A failed asylum seeker from Bolton, who hoarded manuals on how to carry out bombings, has today been jailed for nine years at Manchester Crown Court.

In a chilling echo of the Glasgow and London attacks, nightclubs and airports were among the "suitable targets" identified in the vast library of terror material found on the computer of Omar Altimimi.

Police believe he was "a sleeper" ready to strike.

Altimimi, aged 37, had links to Arab terrorists and had collected detailed information on how to set up terror cells in the UK.

The information included ways to make explosives and how car bombs could be detonated at the entrances to buildings using remote control.

Altimimi was not known as a terror suspect when he came to England and tried to "blend in" by applying for jobs with the police and as a teacher.

But he had links with Arab terror cells in Europe, kept up multiple identities to cover his tracks and hoarded computer files on his home PC, detailing how to plan and carry out jihadi terror attacks.

Father-of-three Altimimi, of Lansdowne Road, Tonge Moor, was found guilty on Wednesday of four counts of possessing material for the purpose of terrorism following the four-week trial.

Yesterday he was convicted of two more charges of possession of material for a purpose connected with terrorism and two charges of money-laundering.

He claimed to have no knowledge of the material on his computer.

All the offences took place between February and June last year.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Porter, head of the Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "Altimimi appears to have been a sleeper', remaining in the shadows waiting and preparing for action.

"We will never know exactly what Altimimi was preparing to do, but it was clear he had support and links with terrorists across the world."

The court heard how Altimimi was linked to terrorists in Holland and to Junade Ferouze, 31, from Blackburn, who was jailed last month for 22 years for his part in bomb plots led by Dhinen Barot, named as al Qaida's "general" in the UK.

Altimimi kept up at least three parallel identities.

He claimed to be an Iraqi brought up in the Yemen. In fact, police still do not know his real identity.

Altimimi came to the UK from the Netherlands in 2002, claiming asylum for himself, wife Samahir Alazzeh, and their three young children.

He claimed benefits, including more than £100,000 from the National Asylum Support Service, while applying for jobs with Greater Manchester Police and Bolton Community College.

He was arrested in March last year on suspicion of money laundering after 54,610 US dollars (£27,000) was stolen from the Yemen Tourist Board.

Police swooped at the Nationwide Building Society in Newport Street, Bolton, after staff became suspicious of his activities, and arrested Altimimi, who was with his accomplice, Yusuf Abdullah, aged 30.

When Altimimi tried to withdraw £3,000 transferred to him by Abdullah, police were waiting.

Detectives searched two homes he kept in Bolton, in Lansdowne Road and Eastbank Street, off Blackburn Road, and seized his computer in the Lansdowne Road house.

Saved on its hard drive, they found masses of terror-related material.

Files contained instructions for making bombs, detonators and explosives, as well as information on bombing strategies.

The advice included information for suicide bombings on a bus and tips on targets such as markets, stadium exits, colleges, cinemas, buses and bus stops. One told how to use shrapnel to maximise death and injury.

Also found was a recipe for creating poisonous cyanide gas using tablet capsules which would kill humans within minutes, a shopping list of common substances for use in homemade bombs and a "chilling" reference to the use of radioactive radium in explosives.

Altimimi also had video clips of "graphic and appalling" executions of hostages in Iraq.

Other information found on his computer gave instructions on how to disguise bombs hidden in boxes of Persil washing powder and sweets.

He also kept video clips showing Osama bin Laden and praising the "Knights of London" for the 7/7 outrage.

The Recorder of Manchester, Judge Maddison, remanded the Altimimi in custody for sentence today with Abdullah, of Bradford Avenue, Farnworth, who had previously pleaded guilty to money-laundering offences.

Altimimi made no reaction as the remaining guilty verdicts were delivered yesterday.

During the investigation, officers carried out inquiries in 14 countries stretching from Scandinavia to the Middle East.

Much of the material on Altimimi's computer was downloaded from a secret password-protected al Qaida Internet site.

Mr Porter said: "We will never know who Altimimi really is.

"He developed a range of identities which would allow him to expand his terrorist activities. He is a congenital liar and has lied throughout this investigation.

"Altimimi arrived in Bolton and then used his wife and children in a bid to blend into the community, appearing as an ordinary family.

"But behind closed doors he was downloading shocking videos of executions, bomb-making recipes and information on how to establish a terrorist cell.

"This case demonstrates how important it is for people to report any concerns about suspicious activity to us.

"When people provide information to the police, they could be giving us the final piece of a complex jigsaw."