Two Years For Regent Street Bomb Hoaxer

A bomb hoaxer – who shut down busy Regent Street for five hours while police negotiators urged him to give up – has been jailed for two years.

Homeless Malcolm Tripp, 46, (pictured) told officers he had planted a bomb in a building he broke into at midnight and pleaded guilty to the hoax.

Southwark Crown Court heard police were called to a security alarm shortly after midnight on January 13 and spotted Tripp inside the building.

He ordered them not to approach as he had a bomb, resulting in the building being cordoned off and other premises evacuated.

Tripp eventually left the building voluntarily at 5:15am, following a negotiation process, which lasted almost five hours,

He was immediately arrested and it was quickly discovered his bomb threat was a hoax.

Detective Sergeant Matt Fields, said: “Malcolm Tripp effectively shut down an extremely busy part of central London for over five hours.

“He was also responsible for taking up the time of many officers who were unable to deal with real policing incidents during this period.

“This sentencing is reflective of the impact this incident had on the area and highlights the fact that we take any type of hoax extremely seriously.”