A student who took a dip in a Highland loch sparked an emergency alert because a passer-by thought he was drowning.
Christopher Hancock, a business studies student at London University, had travelled north to bag Munros in the Cairngorms.
But he ended up spending a night in police cells after causing a disturbance at Inverness’s main hospital.
Hancock, 24, appeared from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday and admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and lashing out at staff at Raigmore Hospital on Thursday. He was fined £300.
The court heard that after climbing one peak, Hancock had a drink in a bar near Loch Morlich and went for a swim.
But as he splashed about, another holidaymaker thought he was in trouble and alerted an ambulance.
When Hancock, of Great Malvern in Worcestershire, got back to shore, he was greeted by paramedics who considered that he may be suffering from hypothermia. They took him to Raigmore, 30 miles away.
Fiscal depute Michelle Molley said: “Hospital staff were also concerned at his abusive behaviour, and called the police. He then began to shout and swear in the treatment area.
“It was directed at a doctor who was trying to treat him and the police. A community psychiatric nurse was called and he was abusive to her as well.”
Defence lawyer John MacColl said: “He did not want to be rescued and he did not want to go to hospital.
“When he wasn’t allowed to leave, he lost his temper. He accepts the staff should have been treated with respect.”
Sheriff Neilson told Hancock: “It is completely unacceptable to treat hospital staff in this way.”
Afterwards Hancock said: “I was waving not drowning. I had a couple of drinks and because it was such a nice day, I went for a swim. Someone thought I was in trouble and when I got ashore, the ambulance was waiting to take me to hospital.”
He said that he became angry because staff would not let him leave until they examined him.
He said: “I was getting more and more angry and I lost my temper. I shouldn’t have done it and I am sorry for the upset caused.
“If I had been in trouble and needing assistance,obviously I would have been grateful, but therewas nothing wrong with me.
“But all this has cost me £300 and a couple of days of my holiday.
“Now I want to put the whole thing behind me and get on with climbing nine peaks over 4,000ft that are in the area.”
