BOMB hoaxers, fraudsters, burglars and drug dealers have been among the criminals to catch our eye for unusual crimes in 2020.

The Argus reports from the crown courts in Lewes, Hove, and Brighton, and these defendants have all been sentenced to prison for their offences.

They were sentenced to more than 20 years behind bars between them.

In January we reported on how Rashidul Islam, 32, of Ivy Close, London, wanted to catch a flight from Gatwick to Marrakech but was late.

His solution was to phone in a bomb hoax to the airport check-in desk in a bid to delay the plane taking off.

He told a 999 call handler: “EasyJet flight 8897 leaves in 40 minutes… There may be a bomb on the plane, you need to delay it, you need to stop it now.”

The Argus:

The alarmed cabin crew held passengers, but Islam did not get his wish. He was arrested, and admitted the bomb hoax before being jailed for16 months.

Islam was not the only bomb hoaxer either. “Attention seeker” Joseph Firminger also wanted to cause some chaos.

The unemployed 26-year-old made a dummy device with a drinks can and electric wires, and then tried to scare his neighbours.

He even dialled in the bomb hoax himself.

But it sparked a major incident and the evacuation of The Diplocks housing estate in Hailsham where he lived.

Police found he had searched for “arson and incendiary device training aids”.

His DNA was found on the fake bomb.

Even as 200 people left their homes, neighbours already suspected Firminger had wasted everyone’s time, and with tensions mounting, his own family had to be separated and protected from the angry feeling.

The Argus:

Firminger admitted the bomb hoax and was jailed for two years and three months.

Fraudster Diego Grand, 38, of Holland Road, Hove, led the high-life by conning his friends to fund his love of the Foo Fighters band.

He admitted 14 counts of fraud worth thousands of pounds which he had used to go on the band’s European tour.

The fraudster had intended to hand over an Argentina football shirt to his idol Dave Grohl at every event.

The Argus:

His Facebook posts reveal he had met the band’s frontman Dave Grohl on many occasions.

But it was these social media posts that allowed friends to realise he had scammed them.

Prosecuting Sarah Lindop said: “The defendant would arrange birthday parties, house parties and invite work colleagues, Facebook friends, people he didn’t know particularly well.

“He would make a note of their card details, including the expiry date and security code.”

Grand was jailed for a year.

Among the most bizarre crimes during the coronavirus lockdown was committed by Ricky Lewis, who drove from Crawley to Kent to “give a pal a haircut”.

The only problem for the 35-year-old was that when police stopped him in his Renault Clio, they found more than £300,000 in cash in the boot.

The Argus:

He admitted possession of criminal property and of an offensive weapon and was jailed for two years and eight months.

Glen Hodgins, 32, also got into trouble in his car when police stopped him in Ticehurst.

On his phone they found pictures of him boasting with wads of cash.

In the carpenter’s car officers found 3kg of cannabis, and mobile phone messages linked him to dealing cocaine.

The Argus:

Hodgins, of Ashdown Close, St Leonards, was found guilty of drug dealing and was jailed for seven years.

Motorists can be stopped for all sorts of reasons, but Carl Duncan, 61, was jailed after trying to tell police he was not driving when he was caught speeding and ignoring a red light.

He blamed a woman three times, then intercepted her post to admit the charges without her knowing. He was jailed for nine months.

The Argus reported on Justin Goulding, 41, this year after he was spotted stuffing £40,000 worth of perfume into a van after raiding Boots in Bognor.

He was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for the heist, and for dangerous driving in a stolen vehicle.

Finally, burglar Michael Stonestreet caught our eye after a raid on someone’s home as it was being rebuilt.

At first glance it would seem there was nothing to steal, but the 32-year-old was caught sneaking into the property in Eastbourne.

The Argus:

He stole power tools, and also cash from a workman’s jacket pocket. He was jailed for two years and eight months.