A time-waster who repeatedly called 999 after he mislaid his mobile phone was rapped by a sheriff yesterday.
Alexander Ross dialled the emergency number believing someone had stolen items belonging to him, including his smartphone.
And despite being told by an operator that the 999 number was strictly for emergencies only, he called a further four times – even after it became apparent his phone probably had not been stolen at all.
Yesterday, the 34-year-old appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court and admitted a charge of obstructing or hindering police by calling 999 when there was no emergency. He was fined £240.
Fiscal David Thorburn said the first call was made at 8.30am on January 15.
“He called a total of five times that day,” he said.
“He was told that the call he was making was definitely not an emergency. It was not a criminal matter and he was advised to stop calling police about it.”
Ross, of 20 Cordiner Court, Peterhead, called between 8.30am and 12.15pm. By 2pm, he was traced by police and arrested.
His agent, solicitor agent Sam Milligan, said Ross accepted that he called repeatedly, but stressed he had not been abusive, threatening or rude to the operator.
“The phone had a tracking system which could easily have been used to find it,” he said.
“Mr Ross was somewhat frustrated that morning because he was unable to find these items.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Ross: “It is a serious matter to abuse the treble nine service which is there to help the public in relation to genuine emergencies.”
In recent years, police have made concerted efforts to cut down on the number of people abusing the 999 number.
Inappropriate calls have ranged from a man who called police to complain that the prostitute he had just hired was too ugly and a woman who wanted to know if the green part of a potato was poisonous.
The force has urged anyone calling about a non-emergency matter to use the 101 number.
