A MAN who threatened to blow up a police station with semtex in a hoax call has been jailed for 18 months.

Preston Crown Court heard that Keith Peel had a previous conviction for a similar offence.

Peel, 35, of Freckleton Street, Blackburn, had been committed by magistrates for sentencing at the higher court for making a hoax bomb threat.

Lisa Boocock, prosecuting, said a communications operator at Lancaster police station received a phone call indicating that a semtex bomb had been in the car park, near the custody area and the front desk.

The caller stated that it was contained in plastic bags and gave a time it was due to explode.

Scenes of crime officers went to investigate, but no device was found. Investigations were also conducted at the phone box from where the call was made.

Later that afternoon he immediately confessed when spoken to by police.

He went on to tell police he had wanted to contact a police officer he had sworn at earlier that day in order to apologise.

He had one previous conviction for making a hoax bomb call which had resulted in a prison sentence and other convictions for sending a false message via a communications system.

Louise Whaites, defending, said Peel had thought the consequences of what he did would allow him the opportunity to apologise to the police officer.

He had been very naive and extremely foolish. "It seems to be an almost childlike desire to gain the officer's attention to apologise to him. He didn't intend to cause distress to the public or the officer. Any inconvenience was extremely short lived," she added.