On 5 October 1974, bombs planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded in two pubs, killing four off-duty soldiers and a civilian. The pubs were targeted because soldiers from the barracks at Pirbright were known to frequent them. The subsequently arrested suspects, who became known as the Guildford Four, were convicted and sentenced to long prison sentences in October 1975. They said they were tortured by the police and denied involvement in the bombing. In 1989 after a long legal battle, their convictions were overturned and they were released.