Newcastle High Level Bridge bomb alert caused by artwork

The transparent box contained wires, a circuit board and a doll.

A bomb alert which saw part of Newcastle city centre sealed off weeks after the London Bridge terror attack was sparked by a piece of art.

The city's High Level Bridge was closed for two hours in August 2017 when a suspicious "device" was spotted.

But it turned out to be a transparent lunch box fitted with wires, a circuit board and a doll.

Student Thomas Ellison pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance at Newcastle Crown Court.

Ellison, from Newcastle, admitted placing the box on the bridge as part of an arts project.

Similar exhibit

Bomb disposal experts removed the object after members of the public raised the alarm.

The following day Ellison, 32, called police to say he had erected some art on the bridge and asked if it could be returned to him.

Detectives were able to trace the phone box he was calling from and Ellison was then identified after his fingerprints were found on the handset.

He was charged with making a bomb hoax, but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of causing a public nuisance.

The court heard Ellison told police he had seen a similar exhibit in Prague and wanted to do the same on Tyneside.

'Completely irresponsible'

After the hearing, Det Con Kim Day said it was "incomprehensible" that he would not have known the consequences of his actions.

She said: "Ellison placed what looked like a very realistic device on a major bridge just two months after the London Bridge terror attacks.

"Not only did it cause a lot of concern among members of the public, but it led to a huge response from emergency services and bomb disposal experts.

"His actions were completely irresponsible. If people have a burning desire to become the next Michelangelo then we would encourage them to use a bit of common sense."

Ellison will be sentenced on October 29.