Man jailed over police station hoax bomb threat

John Blackwell also breached a sexual harm protection order (SHPO).

Blackwell, 26, from Washwood Heath Road, was jailed for 15 months at Worcester Crown Court on March 1.

He was arrested on January 26, and charged on January 28, following a report of a hoax bomb threat in Worcester.

The court was told Blackwell maliciously communicated that Worcester Police Station on Castle Street was subject to a bomb threat in the coming days. During the investigation, it was ascertained that the report was a hoax and no explosive devices or information was found to suggest he was going to partake in the threat.

It was also found that he breached his SHPO by deleting internet history from a mobile device, for which he was sentenced to serve three months concurrently in prison.

Detective Inspector Ed Slough said: “Whilst we ascertained swiftly that the threat of a bomb to Worcester Police Station was a hoax, there is no excuse for his actions and he has been sentenced accordingly.

“Because of a swift and thorough investigation from our officers we located and arrested the individual and established that this was a hoax. A threat such as this could have diverted resources from genuine requests and struck fear into the community.

“We treat all reports of this nature extremely seriously, and anyone caught committing such an offence will be dealt with robustly.”