A man who made a hoax phone-call to police reporting that two bombs had been planted at Anglia Ruskin University has been given a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to communicating false information about a bomb threat.

Joshua Berrabah called police at approximately 4am on Sunday 3rd April, just days after the terror attacks in Brussels, pretending to be Jack Bauer from the TV show 24. 

On Wednesday he was given an eight month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, as well as 250 hours unpaid work. He must also pay £350 court costs.

Prosecutor Caroline Allison said: "The defendant asked for Bill Buchanan or Karen Hayes – both also characters from the TV show."

He claimed that Britain was under attack, and that two bombs - one "waste-like and set on its side" and another a "wallet type iPhone device" - had been planted on the site.

He told the operator that he was "being followed by seven people but couldn't give a description of them because if he turned round he would be shot."

After the operator ended the call, Berrabah phoned twice more, allegedly slurring his words.

When police arrived, with firearms officers and a sniffer dog unit, they found no bombs but discovered Berrabah attempting to flee over a fence into St. Matthews school.

Berrabah told Cambridge Crown Court that he felt “upset and embarrassed” upon hearing the hoax played back to him.