A 53-year-old woman has had her case sent to Antrim Crown Court, charged with making a false bomb threat to a hotel in Newtownabbey that houses asylum seekers.

Joanne Mitchell, of Greenview Avenue in Antrim, is accused of communicating information she knew to be false on Friday, June 12, this year, that a bomb was liable to explode at the hotel. She also faces a charge of breaching an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) by causing harassment, alarm or distress while in possession of an internet-enabled phone.

She appeared at Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, on Tuesday, October 27. Her case was adjourned to Antrim Crown Court for arraignment on November 24, and she was released on continuing bail.

At an earlier hearing, a police officer told the court that on Wednesday, June 10, anti-immigration protesters, including masked men, attempted to march to the Chimney Corner Hotel in Newtownabbey, which is used to house asylum seekers. A heavy police presence stopped the protesters and pushed them back.

Around 1pm on Friday, June 12, an anonymous phone call was made to the hotel in which a female said a bomb would be placed at the hotel and all residents must be evacuated within 24 hours. The security company in charge of the hotel increased security by deploying additional officers.

The police officer said the defendant had been linked to the call. Analysis showed the call was made from the Cloughmills area, and the phone was found at her home. When police rang the number used for the hoax call, the mobile phone in the house rang.

A defence barrister said the defendant denied the charges. She has 108 previous convictions, including seven for bomb hoaxes.

Bail conditions include a £500 surety, reporting once a week to a police station, and a curfew from 9pm to 7am daily.