Forensic scientist David Halliday testified in Britain's Woolwich Crown Court that if the four liquid petroleum gas canisters used in the attack had detonated as planned, the lives of hundreds of people at the airport would have been at risk, The Scotsman said Thursday.

Halliday testified Wednesday that thankfully the canisters never fully ruptured inside the suspects' vehicle during the May 2007 attack, despite the presence of bottles of fuel.

"When I disassembled the bottles, in each case I could detect a small quantity of liquid," he said of the evidence removed from a Jeep Cherokee after the failed attack. "The liquid consisted of two distinct liquids, one of which was petrol."

Halliday said if the canisters allegedly used by terror trial defendants Bilal Abdulla, 29, and Mohammed Asha, 28, had exploded, the blast would have sent nails and screws present in the vehicle flying in all directions.