A legal bid to dismiss a case against a man charged with making a bomb that was planted under a police officer's vehicle was refused on Tuesday.

Judge Stephen Fowler QC rejected a defence application that there was 'no case to answer' against County Fermanagh man Peter Thomas Granaghan - and the non-jury trial is due to resume next month.

Granaghan was charged with three offences arising from the incident, which sparked a security alert in the car park of Shandon Park Golf Club in east Belfast on Saturday, June 1, 2019.

It's the Crown's case that DNA from the 41 year old was located on two separate component parts of the improvised explosive device which was planted under the Cherokee Jeep of an off-duty officer.

The Crown argue that as Granaghan's DNA was located both on the inside and outside of the bomb, this suggests he was involved in its construction.

From Blackrock Park in Belleek, Granaghan was charged with - and had denied - attempting to murder a serving member of the PSNI, and both making and possessing explosives with intent to endanger life.

A Diplock trial commenced at Belfast Crown Court last October, and at the end of the prosecution case in December, Granaghan's legal team launched a legal bid to have the case against him dismissed.

John Larkin QC criticised the circumstantial evidence which was presented during the trial and mounted a legal challenge that there was 'no case to answer'.

The defence barrister added the prosecution had failed to establish how Granaghan's DNA had been deposited on the wire.

As he gave his ruling on the defence application, Judge Fowler said that in a non-jury trial, the court should consider the evidence "as a whole".

He added that a Judge "should not ask himself the question at the close of the prosecution case 'do I have a reasonable doubt'?

"The question he should ask is whether he is convinced that there are no circumstances in which he could properly convict."

The Belfast Recorder continued: "I am satisfied that taking the prosecution evidence at its highest, a jury could properly come to the conclusion that the defendant is guilty.

"Accordingly I refuse the application for 'no case to answer' and as usual in non-jury trials I will give written reasons in due course."

Following his ruling, Judge Fowler said he wanted to resume the trial as quickly as possible.

The case will be reviewed for time-tabling on May 3 and is due to recommence on May 9.

Granaghan, who attended the hearing via a videolink with Maghaberry, was remanded back into custody.