Man jailed for bomb threat to doctor's surgery

Bomb disposal teams attended the incident in April last year

A man who caused a Glasgow street to be evacuated with a homemade bomb threat has been jailed for two and a half years.

He sent an email to a doctors surgery saying "they might force me into something I don't want to do".

Christopher Scarr, 41, was caught with the device at a property in the city's Springburn area on 17 April last year.

He pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and possessing an explosive substance in March.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Scarr had sent a ranting email to Springburn Medical Practice claiming he had built a working bomb.

He wrote: "I don't want to kill anybody but I'm finding it hard to keep my cool."

Scarr had told nurses that he learned how to make bombs from "being in the army".

Members of staff alerted police to the email.

Officers raided his property and found a device made of three black tubes with orange wire twisted on to a black box.

Around 60 residents were forced to flee their homes, a large police cordon was put in place and roads were closed.

The device was later found to be three outdoor pyrotechnics held together that would flash and bang when activated.

Homes were evacuated and roads were closed in the area

Sheriff Andrew Cubie said that Scarr had an issue with his housing situation and that it was "baffling" that he had involved medical staff in his threats.

He said: "This was, as you accept, a very serious offence and you are right to be shocked at the consequences.

"You threatened front line NHS workers and mentioned potential explosive devices."

Greg Cunningham, defending, told the court that Scarr regretted his behaviour.

He said: "He recognises the alarm he created and realises the risk and necessary steps.

"He feels he didn't build something to hurt anyone or with the intention of using it - what he built did not require in depth knowledge."

Scarr was given 30 months in jail with 12 months' supervision following his release.