A man has been jailed after threatening to blow up a street of houses, having posted his supposed intentions on social media.

Concern was raised after heavily inebriated Razvan Sinka contacted a neighbour to tell them he was planning to pour accelerant on nearby properties and set them alight.

Police were contacted by a resident in Wallsend, North Tyneside, concerned about threatening messages received by a neighbour on Station Road.

The social media messages, sent by Sinka, warned the victim to, ‘be ready to evacuate’, stating he was going to blow up the street, having claimed to have purchased 20-litres of a flammable liquid.

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Newcastle Crown Court heard that the 36-year-old was also seen with a bottle of clear liquid outside the house, having squirted some onto the path of his neighbour’s property, which left a strong petrol-like smell.

The victim also reported hearing loud bangs earlier the same day, accompanied by shouting and screaming in the neighbouring property.

Officers were deployed to the address and Sinka was arrested and taken into custody.

In a search of his home, police discovered the gas supply had been tampered with, using a hammer, which was found nearby.

His wilful interference with the supply had caused a leakage of the gas.

Sinka was swiftly processed and initially charged with communication to cause distress plus criminal damage with intent to danger life.

In an interview, later, the victim told police they were terrified, having genuinely believed Sinka would follow through with his threats and feared they were going to die.

The neighbour was also unaware the defendant had caused a gas leak in his address and felt extremely distressed on receiving the information, stating that the result could have been “disastrous”, had police not intervened.

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Sinka, of Station Road, pleaded guilty to charges of causing criminal damage and making communication conveying false information, at a previous hearing at Newcastle Crown Court.

He appeared back at the court for sentence, last Wednesday (May 17), when he received a six-year prison sentence.

Sinka was also made subject of a five-year restraining order to offer protection and reassurance to the victim.

Speaking about the investigation, Detective Inspector Jonathon Pallace, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim, and I hope this sentence offers them some reassurance that we will not tolerate this kind of threatening behaviour.

“Sinka had caused a gas leak inside the property, and it appears to have been solely good luck that this whole incident did not end in tragedy.

“Thankfully, when officers discovered the supply had been damaged, they were able to cut it off and make the property safe before anything could happen.”

Det Insp Pallace described Sinka’s actions, tampering with the supply of highly flammable gas with a hammer, as, “reckless and dangerous”.

The senior detective said: “In doing so, he endangered the lives of everybody living nearby.

“He could have easily killed somebody had the leak spread and caught alight.

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“I am delighted that Sinka has now been convicted of his crimes, and I’d like to thank the victim for their co-operation and support throughout this thorough investigation.

“I’m extremely grateful they contacted us and allowed us to intervene with this incident.”

He urged anyone with concerns as to what is happening within their community to contact police, adding: “you never know what you could be preventing.”