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A teenager has been jailed for phoning in a fake bomb threat so his brother could finish his shift at Burger King early.

Luke Brown, 18, called 999 and claimed there was a device in the Castle Mall food court in Norwich city centre which was due to go off in six hours time.

But the stunt went wrong immediately as cops swooped on the phone box where he called from and arrested him, a court heard.

Brown was locked up for six months after admitting making the hoax call.

His own solicitor described him as "childish" and "immature".

The court heard how the shopping complex had to be searched and cleared by police, although no-one was evacuated.

Brown told police his brother was working in Burger King and wanted to go home early so he'd asked if he could ring police and make something up.

Brown asked to enter the witness box at Norwich Crown Court to tell Judge Stephen Holt he was "very sorry".

Sentencing, Judge Holt said it was an unsophisticated prank and branded Brown a "foolish young man".

He said: "People must learn that you cannot send out bomb hoaxes because if you do you will end up in prison."

Richard Kelly, prosecuting, said police carried out a discreet search of the busy shopping centre but quickly established it was a hoax.

Mr Kelly said nine police officers, two police community support officers, a dog unit and a crime scene investigator all rushed to the scene.

Michael Clare, defending, said Brown, who suffers from learning difficulties and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Mr Clare said it was far removed from the sort of thing that was politically motivated or something that was criminally sophisticated.

He said: "It's a childish, immature prank by someone who is seriously academically challenged."

Speaking after the case, Supt Neil Baily, of Norfolk Police, said: "It's astonishing to think of the stupidity of someone who would call to make a bomb hoax just to get his brother off work early.

"In any case our priority is the safety of the public and we have to treat these incidents seriously from the outset. Hoax calls are not victimless crimes.

"They create fear and disruption to the community and also require a significant amount of resource from emergency services."

He added: "The sentence underlines the seriousness of deliberately wasting police time and taking resources away from legitimate demands. We will always seek to prosecute where appropriate and I hope this case acts as a warning to others."