Joe McElroy, 18, from east London in the UK, hacked into the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, near Chicago, last year, "to use its power to download films and music from the internet," says a BBC report here.

McElroy admitted developing an app he used to break into 17 computers and officials, "pushed the panic button," sparking a full-scale alert, says the Beeb.

"Initially the United States took this matter very seriously because of the nature of the laboratory," prosecutor Stuart Sampson told Bow Street Magistrates.

It researches high-energy particles.

Sampson said the US government now wants more than $37,000 (£21,000) from McElroy to cover the estimated the cost of repairs, "largely those of manpower hours," says the story, adding that McElroy was granted bail will be sentenced in the New Year.

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