A south-east London Mecca Bingo hall received a major scare recently, when a man called the facility stating, “This is a warning. There is a bomb in the car-park. We are Islam.”
The call had been made by a man, named, Chris Hallam. When it had come to an end, the facility immediately contacted emergency services, who soon showed up to complete a thorough search of the facility. Fortunately, nothing suspicious was recovered during the search.
When Woolwich Court caught wind of the situation, suspicion arose that Hallam may have had something to do with it, as he had previously been harassing an employee from the bingo hall with text messages. The text messages are said to have been initiated as a result of a conflict between Hallam and the staff member.
Upon examining phone records, it was discovered that Hallam had, indeed, made a call to the bingo hall, just prior to the emergency services being contacted. In fact, Hallam had been the only call for more than an hour.
While the investigation of phone records directly linked the call back to Hallam, he denied having made any threat. He did admit, however, that he made a call to the facility back in January, while under the influence of alcohol.
Despite his denial, Hallam has been sent to jail for a duration of 18 months at Woolwich Crown Court.
According to Greenwich CID detective constable, Chris Bryant, “This man's actions caused alarm and resulted in the waste of police resources.”
Bryant further added, “Calls like this are no joke and anyone convicted of making hoax calls can face an entirely justified sentence of imprisonment.”
The call had been made by a man, named, Chris Hallam. When it had come to an end, the facility immediately contacted emergency services, who soon showed up to complete a thorough search of the facility. Fortunately, nothing suspicious was recovered during the search.
When Woolwich Court caught wind of the situation, suspicion arose that Hallam may have had something to do with it, as he had previously been harassing an employee from the bingo hall with text messages. The text messages are said to have been initiated as a result of a conflict between Hallam and the staff member.
Upon examining phone records, it was discovered that Hallam had, indeed, made a call to the bingo hall, just prior to the emergency services being contacted. In fact, Hallam had been the only call for more than an hour.
While the investigation of phone records directly linked the call back to Hallam, he denied having made any threat. He did admit, however, that he made a call to the facility back in January, while under the influence of alcohol.
Despite his denial, Hallam has been sent to jail for a duration of 18 months at Woolwich Crown Court.
According to Greenwich CID detective constable, Chris Bryant, “This man's actions caused alarm and resulted in the waste of police resources.”
Bryant further added, “Calls like this are no joke and anyone convicted of making hoax calls can face an entirely justified sentence of imprisonment.”
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