Ex-teacher is jailed after anthrax hoax

A FORMER chemistry teacher who launched a hoax anthrax scare soon after the September 11 attacks was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Nicholas Roberts, 50, of Cardiff sent four letters containing flour to Welsh Assembly leader Rhodri Morgan and three other people to draw attention to himself - but said he saw it as a joke. He raised the alarm himself and the mail was intercepted by police, Cardiff Crown Court was told yesterday. Roberts - who has convictions for throwing eggs at the Queen's car and spraying road signs not written in Welsh - claimed his hoax last October was 'conceptual art' which would 'benifit society'. He denied trying to cause a public nuisance but was convicted. Judge John Griffith Williams QC said Roberts was 'an attention-seeker'.