Jury clear frustrated commuter who threatened to blow up Southern Rail

A commuter has been cleared of threatening to blow up Southern Rail’s headquarters while stuck on one of their trains after insisting he did not expect to be taken seriously.

David Davies, 36, allegedly told Southern’s customer relations department a bomb had been planted in their offices in an email during the height of industrial action which crippled rail services.

Davies said in an email sent in November 2016: ‘I hope you call the police. This is not a hoax. I will f***ing bomb your f***ing HQ to f***ing smithereens’.

He was arrested after staff working for Southern’s operating company Govia passed the message to police.

But the financial services worker from Croydon, south London, was cleared of communicating a bomb hoax after a retrial at Blackfriars Crown Court.

A jury had failed to reach a verdict after the first trial in November.

Davies said he was just ‘blowing off steam’ and did not expect anyone to read his emails.

Southern Rail is the brand name used for Govia’s Thameslink Railway.

The rail network has received criticism from commuters following a series of strikes over the past year or so.

Davies, of Tanglewood Close, Croydon, denied and was cleared of making a bomb hoax.
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