Three men deny bomb hoax 'swatting' calls plot

Three men have denied conspiring to make hoax "swatting" calls to police in England, America and Canada.

Dylan Ash, 19, of Warrington, Cheshire, and Kieron Ellison, of St Helens, Merseyside, also 19, and Liam White, 23, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, entered not guilty pleas at Liverpool Crown Court to five counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and one count of conspiracy to bomb hoax.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between October 2022 and June 2023.

White and Ash also denied a further count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice between July 2023 and October 2024.

One of the counts alleging that false reports were made to police in the US concerning individual online influencers, while other counts relate to identified locations and institutions.

Making hoax calls which lead to the deployment of armed response units, or swat teams, has become known as "swatting".

White appeared online for the hearing while Ellison and Ash, of Warrington, Cheshire, stood together in the dock of the court.

The men were released on conditional bail and are due to stand trial on 1 June.

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