An alcoholic who repeatedly called 999 and threatened to detonate a bomb at Heathrow was spared jail.

Steven Wise called police about 12 times and said he was going to “blow the hell out of this place” after going on a drinking bender.

During the recurring calls the 52-year-old told police he was going to remotely detonate a bomb in Heathrow terminal three and demanded £100,000 “to stop the device going off”.

Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard the 999 call operators could hear aircraft in the background as Wise told them there was going to be a “big explosion”, when he phoned on June 17.

The hoax calls came weeks after the killing of solider Lee Rigby near his barracks in Woolwich and communications officer Stephanie Day, who spoke to Wise at 11pm, said this made him more convincing and frightening.

In a statement read to the court she said: “With everything that recently happened on the Woolwich incident I thought that this was serious.”

Another call handler said Wise became more and more aggressive and rude during the conversations he was doing it because he was from Iraq and was racist.

The court heard Wise, of Down Road, Teddington, went to the pub at 1pm that day and downed a triple vodka and pint of larger.

Wise told the court he had a drinking problem for the past 20 years and that he did not remember anything of the calls, which started at 9.49pm after he continued to drink through the day.

He said: “I was completely in blackout. I don’t remember anything.

“It’s embarrassing and totally out of character. I have never done anything like this in my life.

“I was pretty disgusted when I heard that. I don’t know why it happened.”

During the calls, which Wise made from various locations across west London, he also claimed he had been assaulted by his brother and threatened to go on the roof of a maternity unit at a hospital.

Wise was arrested the day after the hoax at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, where he had been due to appear for a separate minor offence.

He was found guilty of a bomb hoax on Wednesday, August 28, and was told he could face imprisonment but was spared jail when he was sentenced at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on Friday, September 13.

He was handed a 12-month community order, which included supervision and 140 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £250 in costs.