Nottingham woman jailed for 1,800 'abusive' 999 calls

An abusive caller who rang 999 more than 1,800 times has been jailed.

Stacey White, 31, from Nottinghamshire, had "unleashed a tirade of abuse" on call handlers since 2011.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) said her "inappropriate calls" had cost the NHS almost £31,000 last year.

White, who pleaded guilty to persistently making use of a public communications network to cause annoyance, was jailed for 26 weeks at Derbyshire Magistrates Court.

In 2014, White, from Kirkby in Ashfield, was given a 20-week suspended prison sentence for misusing the emergency line and physically assaulting a paramedic.

'Medical emergency'

EMAS said in one year alone, between March 2016 and April 2017, she had called the service 498 times.

Deborah Powell, frequent caller lead for EMAS, said White "demonstrated flagrant disregard" for people experiencing life-threatening emergencies.

"Our emergency call handlers are there to provide life-saving advice over the phone and do not expect to be abused when they come to work," she said.

"We will continue to prosecute those who misuse our service to ensure that the support is there for those who need it in a real medical emergency."

Simon Tomlinson, general manager for emergency operations centres, said: "When you call 999 because someone is unconscious, not breathing, having chest pains or has the symptoms of a stroke, you are making the right call.

"Calling us to abuse our staff is not the right call - someone in cardiac arrest is."