Man bailed after threat to firebomb policeman

And he was arrested at his flat shortly after making two menacing calls.

Partially-sighted Kevin Peel, who carries a white stick, later assaulted a policeman and smashed a glass partition at Blackburn magistrates court.

Hyndburn magistrates heard that Peel, 32, of Edmund Street, Darwen, rang the Lancaster police communications room at around midnight on March 23. He told officers to tell Sergeant Ian Peters that his home would be firebombed at 4pm that day. He later called again repeating the threat on Sgt Peters, who is from the Lancaster area.

Margaret Duckworth, prosecuting, said: "Communications officers noticed the caller's telephone number had appeared on their telephone display screen. The police felt they had to protect the sergeant's home address and a patrol car was despatched to his home. "An urgent telephone trace was made on the Blackburn phone number which had appeared on screen. That led to the flat in Darwen where officers found Peel home alone."

Peel told officers he just wanted to frighten Sgt Peters. The arresting officer, a Sergeant Marshall, picked up Peel's phone and pressed the last number redial button, which connected him to the police communications room at Lancaster.

Peel admitted making threats to cause damage to Sgt Peters' house, assaulting a police officer, criminal damage to an usher's screen at Blackburn magistrates court and failing to surrender to that court.

Mrs Duckworth said the assault happened when a PC Johnson was hit on the ankle by Peel in a cell at Blackburn police station. The glass screen at the court was smashed after Peel got angry with an usher on Monday, April 3.

Magistrates adjourned the case until May 4 for psychiatric and pre-sentence reports to be prepared. Peel, who has served time in prison for indecent assault and a bomb hoax, was bailed on condition he does not contact Sgt Peters or his family, stays out of Lancaster and Morecambe, and observes a curfew.