An Australian student, accused of triggering a bomb scare before a Ryanair flight to Dublin with a text message because she was running late, has told a London jury her message was a "stupid joke".
Angela Sceats (19), Sydney, Australia, sent a text telling her best friend and flat mate, Angela Forster, to "call the police and say there is a bomb on board" while she was on a train from London to Stansted airport last November.
Ms Forster, who was then living in Islington, north London, immediately rang 999 to report the text message and police considered shutting down the airport for fear of a terrorist attack.
Ms Sceats, who was working as a waitress in London during a break from travelling, denies communicating false information with intent - a charge brought under the 1977 Criminal Law Act.
She told Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex: "This text was sent to her [Ms Forster] as a joke to make her laugh. I never thought she would take it seriously."
Ms Sceats told jurors she was due to meet a friend in Stansted and then fly to Dublin.
She said she was running late because she had initially gone to the wrong rail station in London.
During the train journey to Stansted, Ms Sceats said she texted Ms Forster to let her know she was running late.
Ms Sceats said she and Ms Forster engaged in a jokey text conversation.
"I am sitting on trains for so long and I was so bored and I was just wasting time sending stupid joke messages to her. She was sending me joke texts," Ms Sceats told the court.
"This text was sent to her as a joke in order to make her laugh. I never thought she would take it seriously.
"It was an extremely bad joke made in bad taste, but it was never supposed to go further than us two.
"I never even knew that she took the text seriously until I got to the airport and I was on the phone to her and even then I didn't really believe that she had called the police.
"I don't understand how she could have believed this was a serious text message.
"Where did she think I had got this information from?
"I'd absolutely no idea that she had taken it seriously. Two minutes before we were talking about being late and praying our fingertips off and having a joke. I just don't understand why she took it seriously."
Sceats added: "She should have known it was a joke. We were joking earlier . . . I know it had terrible consequences and I could not feel worse about that, but the fact is I never intended her to take it seriously.
"I would never go to the extreme of calling a bomb hoax just so I could get that one plane. In reality it is just a plane to Dublin. I am not that kind of person."
Jurors have heard that Ms Forster replied to the Sceats bomb text with a message saying: "Serious." Ms Sceats had replied: "Absolutely. Hurry up. Do it from the phone box outside. Put on an accent. Tell there is a man with a gun to your head telling you to make the phone call."
Ms Sceats told jurors that her second message was a continuation of the joke. Ms Sceats told the court she had left school in Australia in 2003 and was due to start university last March. She said she was spending that time travelling around the world with friends.
Ms Sceats told jurors she had lost her university place as a result of being arrested and charged.
Staff from her old school had written references saying Ms Sceats had been a prefect and house captain and was "trustworthy and reliable" and "an excellent young woman", jurors were told.
Ms Forster has not been called to give evidence in the trial and the court has heard that she is now back in Australia.
The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict tomorrow.
The hearing continues.