A 19-YEAR-old man who told a 999 operator there was a bomb at a train station has been spared jail.

Liam Rich, of South Farm Road in Worthing, pleaded guilty to falsely making a hoax bomb threat, when he appeared at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on Thursday February 26.

He has been ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, and was also handed a six-month suspended prison sentence following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Rich used a public payphone at Worthing station to make the emergency call, leading to units from Sussex Police and BTP being sent to both Worthing and West Worthing stations on Monday, December 29.