Section 51: Bomb hoaxes.

Criminal Law Act 1977 · 1977 c.45

Part IV: Miscellaneous Provisions

51(2)

A person who communicates any information which he knows or believes to be false to another person with the intention of inducing in him or any other person a false belief that a bomb or other thing liable to explode or ignite is present in any place or location whatever is guilty of an offence.

51(3)

For a person to be guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) above it is not necessary for him to have any particular person in mind as the person in whom he intends to induce the belief mentioned in that subsection.

51(4)

A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.