Fraudster brought city centre to standstill with hoax bomb

Colin Pirie, 27, was due to be sentenced on a fraud charge at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Fearing a custodial sentence, he attempted to delay the hearing by placing a plastic bottle with wires protruding from it in a prominent location in the city and making a series of warning telephone calls.

A bomb threat was declared, causing massive disruption to transport and commerce costing tens of thousands of pounds.

However, Pirie's court case was unaffected by the disruption and he received a two-year prison term.

Now he is facing several more years in jail for the bomb hoax.

Yesterday, the judge who heard the "bizarre" case called for a psychiatric report on Pirie, before sentencing him next month.

Pirie, of Bank Street, Aberdeen, admitted that on 21 January he left a fake bomb on the pavement in Guild Street, Aberdeen. He also pleaded guilty to repeatedly making telephone calls to induce a belief that there was a bomb.

Previously at the sheriff court, Pirie had admitted a 64,000 fraud on his former employer, Muro Testing and Certification UK.

He worked as a test engineer, but duped his bosses into sending him on bogus foreign jobs, including to Hawaii, Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand, by setting up false contracts by e-mail. He claimed thousands of pounds in wages and expenses, but was caught when invoices from Muro for the "work" went unpaid.

Yesterday, the advocate depute, Morag Jack, told the High Court in Edinburgh that Pirie was to be sentenced for the fraud on 21 January. That morning, several phone calls were made, warning the police, a newspaper and a hotel of a bomb in Aberdeen city centre.

Officers found a plastic bottle with wires protruding and elastic bands wrapped around it. A note stating "bomb" and "warning" was attached.

"The incident was declared a bomb threat," said Ms Jack. "A cordon was put in place. Premises were evacuated, roads closed and traffic diverted.

"All trains were stopped from entering the city. Union Square and the Mall Trinity shopping centres closed and evacuated all staff and customers. This resulted in a substantial loss of revenue."

Bomb disposal experts travelled from Edinburgh to examine and X-ray the device. They realised it was "not viable" and found the electrical components appeared to come from a radio alarm clock and a television Freeview box.

Pirie's fingerprints were found in telephone kiosks from where the warning calls had been made. By then, he had appeared in court and been jailed for the fraud.

Pirie said: "I just wanted to delay my court case a bit."