Ellesmere Port man banned from phoning 999 after 85 hoax calls
- Published
Stuart Walton was drunk and "purposely obstructive" during calls to 999 staff, Cheshire Police said
A man who made "countless 999 hoax calls" while drunk has been banned from contacting the emergency services.
Cheshire Police said Stuart Walton was "regularly intoxicated", "verbally abusive" and "purposely obstructive" during 85 calls to control room staff.
The calls "significantly disrupted" the force's ability to help people "in actual need", a spokesman said.
The 58-year-old, from Ellesmere Port, was jailed for six months at Chester Magistrates' Court.
The force spokesman said in the last year, Walton had made "countless 999 hoax calls" and often refused to "provide his details before hanging up".
'Wreaking havoc'
He said Walton also "consistently threatened to self-harm" to get police to go to his home, but when officers arrived, he "would be heavily intoxicated but usually unharmed".
Walton admitted persistently making hoax calls to police between 9 August 2021 and 13 May 2022.
He was told he must spend at least 10 weeks in prison and was handed a five-year criminal behaviour order, banning him from contacting the force or any other emergency service by any means unless it is a genuine emergency.
Police said the "time dealing with these hoax calls could be the difference between life and death"
Speaking after sentencing, Ch Insp Paul Fegan said Walton's "repeated drunken phone calls were a huge hindrance".
"The 999 number is here to support those that are in real danger [and] the time dealing with these hoax calls could be the difference between life and death," he added.
Jane Muckley of the Ellesmere Port Anti-Social Behaviour Unit added that Walton's actions "displayed a true level of ignorance in the work that is carried out by those on the front line, and this is simply not acceptable".
"In order to make our communities safer, it is vital that we stop those who are intent on wreaking havoc," she said.
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