March 1, 2011 1.58 pm This story is over 162 months old

Police crack down on prank caller

Hoax call: Police in Lincoln fined a man who called 999 saying someone had a gunshot wound, turning out it was a hoax.

Lincolnshire Police have issued a fixed penalty notice and fined a 25-year-old Lincoln man who made a prank 999 call.

At around 11am on February 26 the man made a call stating someone had a gunshot wound. Police were deployed.

However, following investigations the call was traced to the 25-year-old man at a Monks Road address.

He confessed to making a hoax call and was given a fixed penalty notice, plus an £80 fine for wasting police time.

Chief Inspector Simon Craft of the Force Communications Centre said: “Hoax callers waste a huge amount of police time and can prevent resources from being used for urgent incidents which can be a matter of life and death.

“This incident shows the lengths we will go to in order to identify, trace and bring offenders to justice.

“Anyone who considers making a hoax call to the emergency services should see this as a warning, and consider the implications of their actions, not only on others, but on themselves.”

Source: Lincolnshire Police | Photo: Yago Veith