A Walthamstow man, branded as a "time waster" by police, has been jailed for claiming he had placed a bomb in a bin in the main concourse at Victoria railway station last week.

Sherdil Khan Niazai, of Blackhorse Road, pleaded guilty to being responsible for the bomb hoax by communicating false information at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 19 and was sentenced the same day to 26 weeks imprisonment.

He was also ordered to pay £180 in court costs.

The court heard that the 20-year-old made a number of 999 calls to police on August 18.

Shortly after 2pm he called on two occasions, asking to be deported back to his native Afghanistan but was told to clear the line by the operators.

Within half an hour he dialled 999 again, this time claiming to have placed a bomb in a rubbish bin on the main concourse at Victoria station.

The station was not evacuated.

He was arrested at his home address within an hour of making the call.

Detective sergeant Helen Parsfield said: “In the current climate of heightened terrorist threat, bomb hoaxes represent an unnecessary distraction for the police and security services.

“This case sends a clear message that if you carry out a bomb hoax you will be swiftly caught, arrested and brought to justice through the courts.

“Niazai was a time waster, motivated by a desire to be deported back to his homeland, rather than any genuine terrorist beliefs.

“Thankfully his calls were categorised as such and therefore no disruption was caused to rail services at Victoria.

“However, that should not detract from the severity of this malicious crime and the waste of valuable police resources used to deal with it.”