Email hoaxer pleads guilty

A hoaxer who emailed the families of people missing in the tsunami disaster to claim they had died has appeared in court.

Christopher Pierson, 40, admitted sending 35 emails to relatives who had asked for news on the Sky News website. Claiming to be from the Foreign Office Bureau in Thailand, he told families the UK Government "regretted" to inform them their loved ones had been confirmed dead. The married father of two admitted charges of public nuisance and malicious communication at Horseferry Road magistrates' court yesterday.

He was remanded in custody for reports and will appear before Bow Street magistrates on 24 January.

District judge Daphne Wickham said she would not grant Pierson bail for his own safety, and because of the likelihood of further offences due to his "emotional disturbance".