BOOZER’S BOMB PLOT TO PINCH GIN

A SHOPLIFTING grandad has been jailed after sparking a bomb scare in a city centre shop.

James McDonnell left a device among bottles of pink gin to try to distract security staff from the fact he was stealing spirits.

His not very cunning plan involved leaving an old mobile phone with a charging lead in a portable charging pack on the shelf at Tesco in case he was caught stealing whisky and gin.

When asked if he had paid for the seven or eight bottles he had slipped into his bag, McDonnell told a security officer: “There’s a bomb in your shop.”

The store, on Newcastle’s Clayton Street, had to be evacuated for 45 minutes, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

But McDonnell’s scheme was easily thwarted as staff simply put him in a holding area while they went to investigate

ALCOHOLIC: McDonnell

the planted device – which they immediately saw was nothing sinister.

McDonnell, who has 41 previous convictions, including 17 for theft and dishonesty, denied putting the device on the shelf when interviewed by police.

Brian Hegarty, defending, said: “His motive for committing this offence is a need for alcohol, rather than a wish.

“He has been an alcoholic for many years and this was committed to enable him to drink more.

“It appears he hatched this plan in order to be able to consume yet more alcohol.

“The device was little more than an old mobile phone attached to a portable charger with a charging wire.”

McDonnell pleaded not guilty to placing an article with the intention of inducing a belief the article would explode or ignite.

But he was found guilty after a trial.

He previously pleaded guilty to theft of the alcohol.

The 54- year- old, of Gateshead, was jailed for 15 months for the bomb hoax and theft of spirits worth £ 161.50.