British man jailed for false bomb claim at Gatwick Airport

British man jailed for false bomb claim at Gatwick Airport

A judge on Monday ordered a man who made a false bomb report at Gatwick Airport to serve eight months in prison.

Roger Cook, 51, approached two airport security staff on July 7, 2005 and claimed there was an explosive device in the south terminal. His claim came hours after suicide bombers had struck London's transport system and killed 52 people on three subways and a bus.

The two security guards concluded that Cook was drunk and did not initiate an evacuation of Britain's second-busiest airport, reports AP.

"It was in my view that only because of the astute actions by the airport security staff that this was a hoax that a real crisis was averted," said Judge David Rennie.