A WOMAN who allegedly sparked the mass evacuation of an Ilminster wedding venue just minutes before the bride and groom were due to make their vows after claiming there was a bomb in the property has been ordered to stand trial at Taunton Crown Court.

Ann-Marie Anderson, 60, of Huish, Yeovil, struggled to get into the courtroom using a walking aid when the case was put before District Judge David Taylor, sitting at Yeovil.

She pleaded not guilty to a charge that on June 18 at Ilminster she communicated to Claire Bristow information which she knew or believed to be false, with the intention of inducing that person a false belief that a bomb was present in Dillington House.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said that a call was allegedly received by staff at Dillington House at 11.52am when the wedding was due to start at 12 midday.

She said the venue was immediately evacuated for an hour and a half causing “huge levels of disruption”.

The call was later confirmed to have been made from the defendant’s mobile phone.

District Judge Taylor said that in light of the “current world climate of terrorism” and the impact of the offence he said that Anderson must be sent to the crown court to stand trial.

He adjourned the case until December 19 when she must appear before a preliminary hearing at Taunton and in the meantime was released on unconditional bail.