A MAN who left a fake bomb outside a Paisley mosque after he was enraged by this summer’s terror attack on London Bridge has been jailed.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard that James Palmer was so incensed while watching news coverage of the June 3 incident that he made a device with items he had lying around his house in the town’s Clavering Street East.

On the evening of June 4, he left a blue plastic bag containing two gas canisters, taped together with wire and wood, on the steps of Paisley Central Mosque while people inside were praying.

Palmer, 31, also threatened to bomb Muslims, including a hand-written message which read “Youse are next, defo” inside the bag containing the fake bomb.

The night before, eight people were killed in London when three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then launched a knife attack in nearby Borough Market.

That attack was the catalyst for Palmer’s drunken decision to make a “bomb” of his own and scare Muslim worshippers in retaliation.

The details emerged when Palmer appeared in the dock to admit his guilt over the bomb hoax.

He pleaded guilty to breaking Section 51(1)(A) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 by committing an offence which was “aggravated by religious prejudice” as per Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003.

The charge he admitted stated that he placed a package at the mosque “with the intention of inducing in some other person a belief it was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property.”

Procurator fiscal depute Claire Nicholls said the offence took place at around 7.35pm, while witnesses inside were saying prayers during the “holy month” of Ramadan.

She told the court worshippers leaving the church noticed the device which had a note attached.

A picture of Palmer taken from CCTV footage was later issued to the media to help track him down.

A friend who saw the image alerted Palmer, who handed himself in to police.

He told officers: “I was out of order.”

Sheriff David Pender called for the accused to be assessed by social workers ahead of sentencing.

When Palmer returned to the dock last week to learn his fate, defence solicitor Rhona Lynch asked for leniency.

She described Palmer as “very vulnerable and timid,” adding that he had a serious alcohol problem.

However, Sheriff Pender ruled a prison sentence was the only way he could deal with Palmer.

He jailed him for 32 months, reduced from four years because he admitted his guilt.

Sheriff Pender told him “we all worry about terrorism”, adding: “This sort of behaviour doesn’t help the situation. It has the potential to create significant tension in the community and the potential to create division.”