Expelled university student jailed for bomb hoaxes

A former student expelled by a university has been jailed for two years after he falsely said bombs had been planted at one of its sites.

Muzammil Ayyaz, 31, called the University of Reading twice in September 2023 and said there were bombs on its Whiteknights campus. Emergency services attended and no bombs were found.

Ayyaz, from Feltham, London, was expelled in March 2023 and between June and September that year made more than 800 threatening calls to the institution across 17 different days.

Det Con Katie Ducker, from Thames Valley Police, said university staff acted with "courage and resilience" throughout.

He was found guilty of two counts of making a bomb hoax by communicating false information following a trial at Reading Crown Court and was jailed on 10 September.

Ayyaz was also given a five-year restraining order, preventing him from contacting university staff and attending any of its campuses.