An Aberdeen man handled dozens of emergency service calls over the festive period after a mistake by police.
The man was left baffled when his phone started ringing off the hook due to journalists calling to find out about ongoing police incidents in the north of Scotland.
It later emerged communications staff at Police Scotland’s Inverness media office had diverted calls through to his mobile phone.
Normally when the office is closed to calls, inquiries are redirected through to a member of staff that is on duty.
The calls started on Christmas Eve, when he received three calls from a newspaper, the man was then woken up by a call at 6am on Monday.
The issue has now been resolved since the force was informed.
The man, who has not been named, said he had received around 16 calls in total and after several calls from a newspaper and he had to say he did not know what they were on about.
The man – who did not wish to be named – said: “I don’t really know what to make of it all. I have had about 16 calls. I had a couple of calls from one newspaper and had to say – ‘look, I don’t know what you are on about’.
“They said – ‘what, are you not the coppers?’
“It began on Christmas Eve. I started to get calls from newspapers asking for the police and I had to explain to them I wasn’t the police.
“The first time it happened, it was really strange.
“Fortunately it has just been media calls. Nothing major or anything, no one wanting to report a crime. I didn’t go to the police about it as I thought they would eventually stop.”
A police spokesman said: “Media were provided with contact numbers for press teams over the festive period, which did not include the Inverness media office. When the Inverness office is closed the number is diverted so that a service is provided to journalists.
“On this occasion, unfortunately it appears that the phone line was diverted to an incorrect number and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”