Macaulay Byrne murder: Army remove explosive device from property searched in Sheffield investigation

The 26-year-old was stabbed in the car park of the Gypsy Queen pub in Beighton on Boxing Day, and so far nobody has been charged with his murder.

The warehouse worker was a father of five.

During the latest searches, an IED (improvised explosive device) was found at one house near the pub and had to be dealt with by army bomb disposal experts.

South Yorkshire Police's latest update read: "Over the last 48 hours, a number of search warrants and arrest attempts have been carried out across Sheffield as officers work to identify and apprehend those involved in Macaulay Byrne's death.

"At around 8am yesterday, officers carried out a pre-planned warrant at an address in High Street, Beighton. After conducting a search of the premises, officers recovered two firearms, a quantity of ammunition and a suspected IED. The Army’s EOD team attended the scene and the device was safely removed from the property.

"Officers then conducted a second warrant at an address in Grange Road. Here, a 52-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man, both from Sheffield, were arrested on suspicion of unrelated drugs and firearms offences. They remain in police custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Hakin, leading the investigation for South Yorkshire Police, said: “The past couple of days has seen the investigation into Macaulay’s death really intensify as all the evidence our officers have been busy collating was put into the execution of warrants and arrest attempts.

“We are keen to still gather as much information into what happened as we can. My team and I still want to hear from anybody who might be able to help us build a complete picture of what happened at that pub that night. It may help bring justice for Macaulay’s family.”

If you think you might be able to help, no matter how insignificant you think your information might be, call 101 quoting incident number 845 of 26 December 2021.