Motherwell polling station bomb hoaxer jailed for more than two years

Bomb disposal experts initially believed the device was viable

A 48-year-old man who planted a fake bomb near a polling station on the day of last year's general election has been jailed for more than two years.

Peter Conoboy placed a shoe box containing the device in the foyer of the tower block where he lived in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.

A nearby community room was to be used as a polling station for the 12 December vote.

Bomb disposal experts initially believed the device was viable.

A controlled explosion was carried out and it was found to be a hoax.

Conoboy previously admitted planting the device - made up of a mobile phone and electrical wiring - at the High Court in Glasgow where he was jailed for a total of two years and three months.

No motive for his actions was made clear.

Residents had to be evacuated from Glen Tower in Motherwell

Judge Lord Matthews heard residents in the ground, first and second floors of Glen Tower had to be evacuated.

He told Conoboy this would have been "irritating" given the time of day.

The judge also said the incident would have caused emergency services "considerable expense and inconvenience".

William Lavelle, defending, told the court he had "no explanation why Mr Conoboy did this" but that he had been drinking alcohol that night, which "no doubt played a part".

Lord Matthews said background reports suggested Conoboy had "problems with mental health...but had not been diagnosed as suffering from any mental illness".

He said the only conclusion he could draw was that "this episode was caused or contributed to by gross intoxication".