Bomb hoax woman jailed for one year

Last month 23-year-old Jasmine Atkinson-Burton pleaded guilty to three charges of communicating a false report of a bomb during an 11-day period in November 2010.

She appeared before Lincoln Crown Court on Monday 17th October when Stuart Lody, prosecuting, told the court that Atkinson-Burton had previously worked as a team leader at Riverside Day Nursery before leaving to set up her own rival business Alphabet Day Care in Corringham Village Hall after becoming unhappy at the way Riverside was being run.

Mr Lody said: “She went on maternity leave and when she returned it seems she was rather disgruntled about arrangements made in the course of her absence.”

“She decided to leave and set up her own business but her son continued at Riverside. During the summer of last year she accumulated a considerable debt for the cost of keeping him there. She believed she was also owed holiday pay by Riverside and that, together with the debt she owed, led to conflict between her and the management of the Riverside Nursery.”

“She made a telephone call to Riverside Nursery to say there was a bomb in the building. As a result the young children had to be evacuated.”

In a bid to deflect blame, she then made hoax bomb calls to her own nursery and to Corringham Primary School. Both buildings had to be evacuated - causing chaos.

Atkinson-Burton, of Dorrigan Close, Lincoln, was jailed for 12 months.

Judge Sean Morris told her: “This was absolute madness on your part. In this day and age it is extremely serious to make a hoax bomb call.”

Robert Underwood, defending, said Atkinson-Burton, who has a two year old son, is currently in her third year studying for a foundation degree, had hoped to qualify as a school teacher but her aspirations have been destroyed by her conviction.