LONDON—British police charged a 43-year-old man Thursday with plotting an act of terrorism and having two improvised explosive devices, chemicals, timers, and a Nazi-themed handbook.

Neil Christopher Lewington was first arrested last week after police discovered a suspected explosive device when they searched him at a railway station in Lowestoft, a coastal city in eastern England.

He was originally charged with possessing an item to cause criminal damage and was released on bail Saturday. But he was immediately re-arrested by Scotland Yard.

Scotland Yard said in a statement that Lewington carried two improvised explosive devices to Lowestoft from Reading, a city near London where he lives, on Oct. 30. It said Lewington was being charged with making or having an explosive substance.

The police statement said Lewington had four containers of weed killer, seven timers, fire lighters, and a book entitled: “Waffen SS U.K. Members Handbook.” The statement said he also had drawings and notes “of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”