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New York prankster jailed after making bomb hoax calls to UK hospitals and venues

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David Hart, 22, from New York, has been jailed after making bomb hoax calls. Picture: Metropolitan Police

By Flaminia Luck

A US man has been jailed for a year after making a series of bomb hoax calls to hospitals and other venues in London and across the UK.

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David Hart, from West Winfield, New York, made 95 calls to a number of UK hospitals and venues, including 66 in London.

Seven hospitals - including Guy's and St Thomas' - were targeted, along with six bars, restaurants and supermarkets, two police control rooms and a cancer support centre.

During the calls, the 22-year-old claimed he'd planted a bomb at the location and that it would soon explode.

Hart also tried to call Westminster Abbey, but the calls went unanswered because it was night time in the UK.

Guy's Hospital Entrance in London UK
Guy's and St Thomas' hospital was targeted by the calls. Picture: Alamy

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Hart has now been prosecuted by US authorities following a joint investigation involving detectives from the Metropolitan Police and their counterparts in the US Department for Homeland Security.

On Tuesday, Hart appeared at the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York where he was sentenced to a year in prison.

The court heard that from late October to mid November 2023, Hart made 95 different calls to numbers in the UK with 66 being made to London numbers.