THE case against the first suspected terrorist to be arrested under tough new anti-terror laws was thrown out of court by a senior judge yesterday.

Student Adnan Abdeleh bragged of his support for Osama bin Laden and rejoiced as the news filtered through of the Twin Towers attacks.

He also claimed to be a member of the banned military wing of the Islamic group Hamas, which is behind the current spate of suicide bombings in Israel, and said he would be willing to bomb a packed North-East pub.

But, following two-days of complex legal argument, a judge at Newcastle Crown Court threw out the case against the 22-year-old yesterday after concluding the drama student at North Tyneside College may have been a daydreamer rather than a hardened terrorist.

Abdelah admitted being a radical Islamic fundamentalist while still living in Palestine, where he was trained in the use of machine guns and rocket launchers, and claimed to have taken part in attacks on soldiers and civilians in Jerusalem.

But he denied that he was still a member of Hamas when he came to Britain in April last year, having been found wandering round North Shields ferry terminal where he had landed from Norway without a passport.

Judge David Hodson found that there was no evidence of any terrorist activity being carried out by him since his arrival in Britain, and the charges of being a member of Hamas and professing to be a member of Hamas were thrown out.

Judge Hodson said: "His audience was never sure whether he was serious or making a joke when he said what he did.

"He had been boastful and full of bombast, but the crown cannot point to one overt act that had been designed to further the cause of Hamas.

"It has been suggested that the defendant was in the UK as a 'sleeper' with the intention of establishing some sort of covert base for Hamas. I think that such a suggestion is fanciful, speculative and not supported by any evidence at all.

"Would such a person on such a mission announce to the world at large that he was Hamas?

"On the evidence, a jury could reasonably conclude that the defendant was perhaps some latter-day Walter Mitty or Billy Liar. His own counsel has even described him as a loud mouth."

Judge Hodson ordered the jury to deliver not guilty verdicts on the terror charges, and the charge of witness intimidation was ordered to be left on file.

Abdelah, of Fenham, Newcastle, was formally discharged from the court but was further detained under immigration laws. His application for asylum will now be processed.