Nicholas Roddis, 23, of Rotherham was found guilty of terrorism offences yesterday at Leeds Crown Court.

Roddis was convicted of engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and placing the hoax bomb on the bus with the intention of making people believe it might explode and cause injury.

He was charged after police found information about making an explosive device, chemicals, including acetone and hydrogen peroxide, fuse wire and a quantity of nails in his lodgings.

A jury of six men and six women found him guilty of acquiring these items for the preparation of an act of terrorism after deliberating for four hours and 40 minutes.

As the verdicts were returned, Roddis' mother sobbed and shouted ``No'' from the public gallery.

Roddis was arrested two months after he left the hoax bomb on the Maltby to Rotherham bus service on Tuesday 8th May last year.

He boarded the bus wearing a false beard and left the device, which consisted of a bag of sugar, a clock and wires, in a plastic bag on the vehicle when he got off in the Herringthorpe area.

After passengers noticed the package, the bus and around 100 neighbouring houses were evacuated and an Army bomb disposal team blew up the device.

A note was found with the hoax bomb which said, in badly written Arabic: "There is no God but Allah. Mohammed is the messenger of Allah. Allah the Greatest. Allah the Greatest. Allah the Greatest."

The note went on to say: ``Britain must be punished'' and was signed "The al Qaida organisation in Iraq".

Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, told the court how Roddis had developed "a close interest in what amounts to radical and extremist Islamic activities and radical and extremist Islamic violence " .

The three-week trial also heard that Roddis had claimed he was a Muslim convert, although he denied this while giving evidence.

Speaking after the jury had returned their verdicts, Judge John Milford QC said: "His anger at the way he sees the world has treated him has found focus in Islamic militancy."

He continued: "It is one of the dangers of this sort of terrorism that other people tag on to it for their own reasons.''

In mitigation, Paul Watson QC said a psychological report revealed Roddis was "prone to fantasy".

"This is a very unusual young man with unusual problems," he said.

"It is clear from the psychological report that he has sought refuge from those demons in the attractions of the material that was found on him.''

Roddis received a two-year sentence on count one for the hoax bomb on 8th May 2007 and he received five years on count two under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act, Preparation of Terrorist Acts. These two sentences are to run consecutively.