A MAN who was accused of shouting 'I'm a suicide bomber!' as part of a fake bomb threat at Southend Airport has been unanimously cleared of any wrongdoing.

Claud Osbourne, 26, from Pantile Avenue, Southend, always denied one charge of communicating false reports about a bomb at Southend Airport last May.

A jury took less than 30 minutes to return a unanimous verdict of not guilty after a short two-day trial at Basildon Crown Court.

During the trial, Mr Osbourne laughed throughout witness testimony which claimed he shouted he was a suicide bomber to try and jump queues.

Security supervisor Joseph Sutton told the jurors that he became aware a man had pushed in front of passengers in the queue prompting a security response from the airport team.

Mr Sutton said: “I ran towards him and put my arm out to stop him. There was no physical contact between myself and the man.

“He said he needed to get on a flight. I told him to go back and get scanned.

“He was aggressive, raised his voice and was angry and stormed off. He said ‘I’m a suicide bomber, I’m a suicide bomber’ a few times.”

However, the court heard that Joseph Sutton was mistaken, despite his 100 per cent insistence that Mr Osbourne said those words.

Defending, Ian Clift said: “I suggest he was treated as he appeared, which was someone that was a nuisance and you didn’t want him in the area where he was, and not as someone who was a genuine threat.”

Prior to the trial, Mr Osbourne was also charged with one count of possessing a Class A drug and admitted the charge at the Southend magistrates’ court on May 16 last year.

Mr Osbourne was found to be in possession of a small quantity of cocaine when he was arrested.

After being acquitted of the more serious charge of making a hoax threat, Mr Osbourne was handed an absolute discharge by judge John Lodge for the possession of cocaine.

He was free to leave the court after the hearing concluded.