A Sussex man has been charged in a four-year police investigation into a nationwide series of bomb hoaxes.

Jobless Neil Christian Bartlett, 28, of Bewley Road, Angmering, near Worthing, is accused on five counts of communicating false information.

Sussex Police said recipients of the telephone hoaxes included supermarkets, banks, local councils and oil companies.

A force spokesman said: "The common theme with all the hoaxes were animal rights or environmental issues." He said the series of calls dated back to October 1996.

Sussex Police have been co-ordinating the investigation during the past few months.

Mr Bartlett was arrested on Tuesday.

He is charged under Section 51 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 with offences alleged to have taken place between July 16 and August 21 this year.

Mr Bartlett appeared before Worthing magistrates yesterday and was remanded in custody until next Thursday.

The police spokesman said the inquiry was continuing.

Superintendent Mark Streeter, who headed the Sussex Police operation, said the hoaxes being investigated caused widespread disruption and in some cases led to evacuations.

He said: "We treat all hoaxes extremely seriously, as do the courts. The maximum sentence for the offence is seven years."