Jail for bomb hoax

A French man who was running late for his flight from London to LA tried to delay it by calling cops to say there was a bomb on board.

Librarian Jacob Meir Abdellak, who lives in east London, made the call eight minutes before his 5.47am Norwegian Air flight from Gatwick Airport was due to leave on May 11 because he was late and airline staff had refused to allow him on board, a court heard.

His hoax meant passengers had to be re-screened and take-off was delayed by 90 minutes.

An investigation by Gatwick revealed the hoax call had been made using the same number linked to his booking, reports Reuters.

When Abdellak returned to the airport to take another flight to the United States on May 22, he was arrested.

On Tuesday he pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court and sentenced to 10 months in jail.