Timothy Smeed Joy pleaded guilty to the bomb hoax - communicating false information when he appeared at Exeter Magistrates’ Court this morning (Tuesday).

A man called police claiming he had planted a bomb outside Seaton arcade because he wanted to get back at the officers who took his dog lead, a court heard.

Police received a call from Timothy Smeed Joy on the evening of Friday, January 19, at around 6pm.

The 55-year-old claimed he had planted an explosive device outside the Seaton arcade which would go off in 20 minutes and had enough powder in it ‘to blown the sh** out of everyone’ and that it would ‘take out everyone in the area’.

The court heard that when the operator asked him why he had planted the bomb, Joy claimed the police had ‘upset him’.

Magistrates were told how emergency response officers rushed to the scene and evacuated the building before setting up a 200-metre cordon and searching the area.

When the area was deemed safe, officers lifted the cordon before using the mobile phone number which had called the police to track Joy. They attended his address, in Harbour Road, Seaton, where they were confronted by Joy, who had clenched fists. He was handcuffed and arrested before he was taken to a police station.

The court heard that Joy told officers that he had warned them that he would ‘wind them up’ if they did not give him his dog lead back.

In a police interview, he admitted that he had not planted a bomb and, when he was asked the reason for the hoax, he said: “To get you back and keep you on your toes - you can’t go around taking things off people, the police are the ones in the wrong here.”

Prosecutor Miss Lynsey Baker said officers told Joy that they had searched the entire area, which was when he admitted he was ‘out of order’.

She added Joy had also been drunk when he had phoned the police, having consumed an entire bottle of gin.

Joy, who pleaded guilty to the bomb hoax - communicating false information, will be sentenced on March 13 at Exeter Crown Court.