Fed-up fast food worker Terry Johnston made a bomb threat in a bid to get away from a busy session at his restaurant.
The team leader at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Braintree told police about a bomb on the premises and a court heard how this led to an emergency plan being swung into action.
Police and emergency services were called to the scene at Galley's Corner, staff and customers from the restaurant and three others nearby were evacuated and a hospital was put on standby.
Businesses lost more than two hours worth of trade on a Saturday night at a cost of between £3,000 and £4,000, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.
The next day, 22-year-old Johnston went to police and confessed.
His barrister, Catherine Bradshaw, said: "He can't explain why he did it. It must have been a temporary breakdown."
Since the incident on April 24, Johnston, of Lammas Drive, Braintree, has written to all the other restaurants in the area, apologising for the trouble he caused.
Jailing him for nine months, Judge Rodger Hayward Smith QC told Johnston: "In the present climate, this was a very serious offence."
The court heard Johnston was working as a team leader in the restaurant when he called police at 7.20pm and said he had received a phone call telling him there was a bomb on the premises.
Miss Bradshaw said: "He was under a lot of stress, working extremely long hours every day."
Published Friday June 11, 2004
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