Bomb hoaxer caused chaos

Marley hoax caused Railtrack to be fined £73,000

A bomb hoaxer whose claim to be a member of the Continuity IRA brought chaos to Euston station has been sent to prison for three years.

Ciaran Marley planted a holdall, with two speaker boxes and his personal diary inside, on the London station's eastern concourse.

The bag was destroyed in a controlled explosion when x-ray photographs revealed suspicious wires hanging from the boxes, Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court heard.

Both the underground and main lines were closed for an hour during the emergency, causing hours of delays.

The incident cost Railtrack £73,000 in fines from railway companies Virgin and Silverlink.

Tape recording

Marley, born in Belfast, had fled back to Northern Ireland and when he was arrested he refused to speak, hoping to avoid having his voice matched to the tape-recorded warning.

The prosecution told the court Marley was caught on CCTV circling the concourse.

Pawn ticket

He left the bag outside the Impulse record shop and then called the police from the telephone box outside the station two minutes later.

The court heard how he claimed to be the Continuity IRA and gave the codeword 'Bonzo.'

Police officers found the bag shortly afterwards and began a complete evacuation of the station, the prosecution told the court.

After the x-ray photographs were taken a decision was made to destroy the bag in a controlled explosion.

When officers searched Marley's home at Cauldfield Court, Baynes Street, Camden, London, they found a pawn ticket and recovered CCTV footage from the broker showing the hoaxer entering the shop.

'Not impulsive'

The court heard he had a string of previous convictions in Ulster including six for disorderly behaviour, eight for traffic offences, four of theft and five for assaults on police.

Marley admitted placing an article with intent and communicating false information.

His defence team said Marley wanted to be caught.

The court was told the hoaxer had a tragic background in Belfast where he had been kneecapped by the IRA for persistent joyriding.

Jailing him for three years Judge Ian Karsten, QC, told him: "The way in which you purported to be the Continuity IRA using a codeword leaves me to the conclusion this was not an impulsive act but took a degree of planning on your part."