THE man who sparked the bomb scare which resulted in Darwen railway station and surrounding area being evacuated on Monday made disturbing comments on a train about killing white people and 9/11, a court heard.

Blackburn magistrates were told the railway line was closed for several hours as the army bomb disposal squad carried out X-rays of bags belonging to Mohammed Khalil Khan.

He was arrested after fellow passengers on the Manchester to Clitheroe train heard him making comments about chopping up white people and setting them on fire.

He made comments about the New York World Trade Center terror attacks and later told police he was Osama Bin Laden.

Khan, 51, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to possession of a knife. He was sent in custody to Preston Crown Court to be sentenced after the magistrates ruled their powers of punishment were insufficient.

Robin Lynch, prosecuting, said a passenger approached the train guard shortly after the train had left Bolton station and reported concerns over the comments being made by Khan.

British Transport Police were contacted and arranged to meet the train at Blackburn. Shortly after another passenger reported hearing Khan saying he was going to cut people’s heads off.

He also said he could see wires coming from one of the bags.

“The defendant was then seen to put on a khaki gilet and the guard rang 999 and arranged for the train to stop at Darwen,” said Mr Lynch.

“Passengers, including, the defendant were ordered off the train.”

Khan was arrested on the station and it was established that he didn’t have any explosives on him.

He was placed in a police van and started head butting the sides. He was pepper-sprayed and placed in leg restraints to prevent him harming himself.

Mr Lynch said army bomb disposal personnel arrived at the station and completed their checks at about 7.15pm.

“The train lines were closed throughout the incident and residential and business properties were evacuated,” said Mr Lynch.

He said the knife the subject of the charge was found in one of the defendant’s bags.

Gareth Price, defending, said everything the magistrates had heard about his client’s behaviour on the train had nothing to do with the offence he was charged with.

“The prosecution could have laid charges relating to his behaviour on the train but they didn’t do that,” said Mr Price.

“He is charged with possession of a knife that was found in his bag after he had been arrested and taken to the police station.”

Mr Price said the two previous knife offences were 30 and 20 years ago and had resulted in an absolute discharge and a conditional discharge.

Those offences meant Khan faced a mandatory minimum sentence for the latest offence.

Mr Price said the blade had been used by Khan when he had been a carpet fitter but that was not work he had carried out for some time.

“He hails from the Blackburn area but is currently homeless,” said Mr Price.

"As a result, all his worldly goods were in the bags he had with him and the knife was among them."