Freeview box starts bomb scare

A Freeview set top box was mistaken for a bomb by prison staff at HMP Swaleside, which is situated on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

There are 778 prisoners held there and over the past few years staff have noticed an increase in the amount of equipment being thrown over the wall for the inmates’ use.

These objects include mobile phones and other gadgets.

But finding a Freeview set top box with cables and remote control taped to it, was a little extreme.

It was x-rayed by the prison staff, who for some reason believed that it contained a bomb. In fact they believed that it was a hi-tech device with infra red trigger.

It turns out that the Freeview box was intended for a prisoner.

All cells have TVs but only with the five terrestrial channels, and Freeview offers forty eight channels to choose from.