A NORTH Cumbrian man has appeared in a court accused of perpetrating a ‘bomb hoax’ at Carlisle’s Cenotaph on Armistice Day, November 11.

Benjamin Michael Heaney, 41, whose address was given as Burgh-by-Sands, near Carlisle, is alleged to have sent a message to a person knowing it to be false with the intention of making that person believe that a bomb was present in the area of the Cenotaph, court papers show.

In court, Heaney, who was represented by defence lawyer Paul Tweddle, did not formally enter a plea to the allegation but he indicated an intention to deny the allegation.

District Judge Gerald Chalk said that the case should be dealt with by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court and he sent the case there for a hearing on December 10.

In the meantime, the defendant was remanded in custody. He is likely to be asked to enter his plea when he next appears before that court.