A panicked English groom who staged a bomb hoax on his wedding day so his bride would not find out he bungled the booking has been jailed in Liverpool for 12 months.

Neil McArdle had forgotten to fill in the forms to marry the "love of his life" Amy Williams, but could not face telling her that the big day "that was all she talked about" was not going to happen.

Bomb hoax: Neil McArdle. Credit:AP

Instead of saying "we need to talk" the 36-year-old tried to "weasel" out of his predicament, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

As his bride got ready for her wedding he slipped out of their house in Kirkby, Merseyside, went to a phone box, disguised his voice and rang Liverpool Register Office, claiming: "This is not a hoax call. There's a bomb in St George's Hall and it will go off in 45 minutes."