The bomb hoaxer whose "petulant" act of "pure spite" put a North Yorkshire town into lockdown for hours has been jailed for four years.

Teams of armed officers with authority to shoot, riot trained police, dog handlers and other police were sent to Knaresborough last October.

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They were reacting to Shamsul Islam's three calls claiming that terrorists were using Paragon Pizza in the town's High Street as a bomb-making base, Crown Court heard.

Four innocent restaurant staff were arrested at gunpoint and strip searched as they were held for hours while police searched their premises, closed down the town and kept everyone indoors.

Only after officers were sure Islam's calls were hoaxes was the all-clear sounded. Islam, of Spencer Place, Leeds, had made the calls out of "pure spite" because the staff had not backed up his lies that his brother lived at the restaurant's address.

He denied three charges of making bomb hoaxes but was convicted by a jury last month. He admitted perverting the course of justice by lying to police.

The four-year sentence will be served after he finishes an eight-year sentence for dealing in Class A drugs, burglary, dangerous driving and other offences.

York Press:

His brother, Habibul Islam, 22, of Spencer Place, Leeds, had previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and making a false statement to obtain insurance after producing his insurance details to the police to cover his brother’s driving offences and giving a false address.

He was given a six month jail term for perverting the course of justice and further six month jail term for fraud, both to run concurrently and suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.