A policeman who sparked a major terror alert by making a hoax 999 call to his own force has been warned to expect a "substantial" prison term.

Pc Amar Tasaddiq Hussain, 29, appeared unmoved in the dock as a jury convicted him of two counts of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

A three-week trial at Stafford Crown Court was told Pc Hussain's actions prompted West Midlands Police to take unprecedented security measures to combat a supposed plot to kidnap a Muslim officer.

The trial also ended with the conviction of two men from Birmingham - Adil Bashir, 26, and 31-year-old Muhammad Ali Sheikh - on the same charges.

Adjourning sentence until later this month, the Recorder of Stafford, Judge Michael Chambers QC, told all three defendants: "Clearly, substantial sentences of imprisonment are inevitably going to follow."

Jurors, who returned unanimous guilty verdicts after deliberating over three days, were told Pc Hussain hoped his bogus tip-off would discredit an official within an Islamic community group.

The malicious 999 call in December 2014 - passing on details of the "kidnap" plot - followed two other anonymous calls alleging that a sham marriage was taking place in Birmingham.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Simon Davis claimed the call alleging a terrorist plot was an attempt by Pc Hussain to discredit a fellow member of Dawat-e-Islami, a faith group which held peaceful gatherings in the West Midlands.

The bogus allegation that a kidnapping was imminent led to a man being arrested by counter-terrorism police at a tyre business in Walsall.

But it soon became obvious to police that the claims made against the innocent party were malicious.

All three defendants were remanded in custody until sentencing on May 27.

Addressing the court after the guilty verdicts, Judge Chambers said: "I am going to direct that pre-sentence reports are prepared.

"These were extremely serious offences and in your case, Hussain, represent a vast breach of trust."

In a statement issued after the convictions, the West Midlands force said its inquiries showed all three defendants were intent on undermining colleagues within the Islamic group.

Pc Hussain, based at the Birmingham West and Central local policing unit, was suspended after his arrest in September last year.

Commenting on the offences, Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said: "Hussain has not only let down West Midlands Police, he has also let down the peaceful organisation, non-political organisation that he was part of.

"The impact of the threat had a huge effect on officers and staff and in turn on their loved ones.

"Never before have we had to instruct officers and staff to call in after their tour of duty to let us know they had returned home safely."

Mr Beale added: "West Midlands Police expects the highest standards of those who work in the organisation and the vast majority of officers and staff uphold these high standards.

"There is absolutely no place in policing for those who abuse the trust placed in us by the public."