A BOMB hoaxer who begged for mercy from a judge harassed and made threats to people while in prison.

Wayne Kavanagh had sent messages to two women and a man via social media, voicemail and text message between September last year and April this year.

The 29-year-old was jailed on November 12 for causing a ten-hour stand off with police in Sherwood Way, Southend on September 30, after falsely claiming he had a bomb.

Before he was jailed he read out a letter to Judge John Lodge asking for help and support from the justice system.

He said he had been “cast aside” throughout his life.

Despite this, between October last year and May this year Kavanagh had, on three separate occasions, been found with a mobile phone in prison where he had sent abusive texts and a threat to the three people.

He had been made subject to a restraining order in April last year prohibiting him from contacting one of the women involved.

Kavanagh, formerly of Derek Gardens, Southend, was arrested on May 12 following an investigation co-ordinated by the Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders team (MOSOVO).

He admitted malicious communications, two counts of breaching a restraining order, one count of harassment, and two counts of possessing an unauthorised item in prison.

At Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on May 13, he was jailed for a year.

Det Insp Nathan Hutchinson, who was in charge of the case, said: “Wayne Kavanagh is dangerous and prolific offender who caused misery to his victims.

“Through effective and dedicated work involving several different teams within Essex Police, as well as Bedfordshire Police, the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, and the prison service, we have been able to put him behind bars.

“The highly trained, plain clothes MOSOVO teams work away from the public gaze are vital to keeping the public safe from Registered Sexual and Violent Offenders.

“I want to thank all the officers and partner agencies involved for their hard work in building this case and getting justice for the victims.”