British ‘Bomb Hoax’ Groom Sentenced To One Year

London – The forgetful groom that called in a bomb threat to his wedding venue earlier this month will spend a year with a different kind of ball and chain.

Neil McArdle forgot to book his venue, Liverpool’s St. George’s Hall, for his wedding. The day of, instead of admitting to his fiancee and their family that he had forgotten to reserve the place, he called them up and told them there was a bomb in the building.

Employees took the call seriously and evacuated. When McArdle and his wedding party showed up, police started asking questions. McArdle made a full confession after they found that he hadn’t made a reservation.

McArdle, 36, knew pretty much right away that he had made a huge mistake.

“He did say several times how embarrassed and ashamed he was and how sorry he was,” said prosecutor Derek Jones.

Still, a Liverpool Crown Court judge sentenced McArdle to 12 months in jail for his phony bomb threat. Judge Norman Wright referenced the Boston marathon bombings, and said that not only did McArdle scare the venue’s staff with his hoax, he disappointed his fiancee.

“She was getting ready, expecting you were going to be man and wife and a very solemn public event in her life and you knew that was not going to take place,” Wright said.

“You did not say ‘We need to talk.’ You tried to weasel your way out by creating a bomb hoax so the wedding would not take place.”

Despite being left standing in the street wearing her wedding gown as the venue was evacuated, McArdle’s fiancee, Amy Williams, has stood by him. Defense lawyer Charles Lander said that the two are still together.

“The fact that she stands with him speaks volumes for her, and I hope volumes for him,” Lander said.

This is why it’s best to just leave men out of the wedding planning process altogether, ladies.

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