A DRUNKEN Darlington backpacker who threatened to hijack a packed passenger plane following a heavy drinking session was jailed in Australia last night.

Thomas James Lilico, of Darlington, who is in the country on a year-long working holiday, burst into tears when he was sentenced to a month in prison.

The 21-year-old former university student, who is known as Tom, has become the first person to be jailed in Australia under tough new anti-terrorism laws introduced since the September 11 attacks.

He was actually handed a three-month sentence but will only have to serve a month because two thirds of the punishment was suspended.

Lilico, a former pupil of Hummersknott Comprehensive, in Darlington, was working abroad on a temporary visa after leaving the North-East last summer.

He was on board a Qantas internal flight from Cairns to Darwin with five friends on New Year's Day when he made the drunken hijack threat before take-off.

Lilico sprayed an aerosol in the cabin, terrifying nearby passengers who feared it might be a chemical attack. He was also said to have threatened to use a knife to hijack the plane.

Cairns Magistrates' Court heard that he drank eight pints of beer before boarding the flight.

He was searched after he was arrested, but no knife was found.

Australia has taken a stronger stance on terrorism following the September 11 attacks and the Bali bomb blast that killed 180 people and injured 300 others on October 12. About 100 Australians are believed to have lost their lives in that attack.

The court case has stunned Lilico's family and friends.

They said last night that Lilico - who also attended Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form college in Darlington - was a "nice guy".

At his family home in Beechwood Avenue, Darlington, a relative said: "There is nothing more that we can say. We are just waiting for more news."

His mother, Dorothy Lilico, a senior science technician at Hummersknott Comprehensive, was unavailable for comment.

His father, Jim, of Salutation Road, is an environmental officer at Darlington Borough Council. He said that the family did not want to discuss the case.

Sylvia McDonald, a neighbour of Mrs Lilico, said: "Tom is a lovely lad. I can't believe this has happened to him.

"He's not a hooligan or a lout. He is just an ordinary young lad who has never caused his parents a moment of trouble in the past.

"He did well in his studies at school and went on to do a university degree. Dorothy is very proud of what he has achieved.

"They will be devastated that a thing like this has happened to a boy who has never been in trouble in his life.

"He must have had too much to drink and not realised the trouble he was getting himself into. It's a real shock and I feel deeply sorry for his family."

A schoolfriend of Tom Lilico, who did not wish to be named, said: "I am really shocked. He is a nice guy and a bit of a joker. He is harmless but I can imagine him getting drunk and doing it as a laugh."

Police were called to Cairns Airport after Lilico produced an aerosol can from his hand luggage and sprayed the cabin.

An Australian Federal Police spokesman said an airline attendant also heard Lilico threatening to use a knife to hijack the plane.

The spokesman said that while no knife was discovered in his hand luggage, a Swiss army knife was found in his luggage stored in the cargo hold - but at no time did Lilico have access to the weapon.

The aerosol later turned out to be an asthma inhaler.

Lilico pleaded guilty yesterday to making a threatening and false statement after being charged under the Federal Aviation Act.

Magistrate Ken Lynn said a jail sentence was appropriate in the current terrorist climate to act as a deterrent against "extremely foolish behaviour fuelled by an excess of alcohol".

He said: "It must be understood (such actions) will be not be without consequences."

The court heard that Lilico could not remember making the hijack comment after a drinking session in which he consumed eight pints of lager between 3pm and 9pm.

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