A blackmailer threatened to torch a pub unless the landlord left him £200 cash in an envelope at a nearby bus stop, a court heard.

Neil Wilson's plan backfired because his fingerprint was found on the envelope of the anonymous threatening letter delivered to The Wheel pub in Rearsby.

He was arrested in January on another matter and a police electronic fingerprint reader flagged him as wanted for demanding the money with menaces in July 2008.

The letter claimed the landlord had been followed and two men were waiting nearby to torch the premises if the money was not paid.

It was a hoax and the threat was not carried out.

The 22-year-old, of Tudor Road, Leicester, was jailed for four years after admitting blackmail.

Cath Carrie, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court the landlord saw from CCTV footage that a man had mysteriously delivered the letter the previous night.

When arrested, Wilson said he wrote the letter because he was "bored" and probably needed money, as he had been drinking and taking drugs at the time. She said: "In interview he said he'd walked past the bus stop to see if the money had been left, but it had not."

Wilson had previous convictions for offences including burglary and theft.

Claire Howell, mitigating, said he was sorry for his stupid and rash action.