December 6, 2010 4.40 pm This story is over 159 months old

Persistent 999 hoax caller arrested

Nuisance: A Lincoln man was arrested on suspicion of making persistent 999 hoax calls.

Lincolnshire Police arrested on December 6 a 48-year-old man from Lincoln, who is suspected of making nuisance calls to the 999 emergency number.

Police say the man is suspected of making persistent nuisance phone calls over a period of time to the police and other emergency services.

It is alleged these calls contained hoax bomb threats, random non-emergency related requests and threatening and abusive language.

The calls were made on a mobile phone, and police were able to trace the suspect’s name and address.

Police arrested him at his home address on Monday, and he was interviewed at Lincoln Police Station.

Chief Inspector Simon Craft, Head of the Force Communications and Control Centre said the force takes nuisance calls “extremely seriously”:

“Nuisance, malicious or hoax phone calls can block the 999 lines for the police and other emergency services, and the consequences of this can literally be a matter of life or death.

“We are able to trace people via their telephone numbers and can take a number of actions against them, such as having their phones disconnected, to making an arrest, as in this case.

Craft urged people to use the 999 number appropriately as “This will mean that members of the public who are in danger or at risk, and who genuinely need the emergency services can be responded to as quickly as possible.”

Source: Lincolnshire Police | Photo: Yago Veith