Text bomb hoaxer cleared

A DUBLIN-BOUND Australian gap year student accused of triggering an airport bomb scare with a “joke” text message was yesterday cleared of any crime but left with a hefty legal bill.

Angela Sceats, aged 19, of Sydney, Australia, was found not guilty of communicating false communication with intent by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court after a two-day trial.

But a judge ruled that she should pay her own legal costs - estimated by judicial sources to be around £15,000 (€21,700).