24/09/2015

Man Banned From Contacting Emergency Services

A man has been banned from making phonecalls to emergency services in Merseyside after being found guilty of persistently making use of public communications network to cause annoyance.

Ross O’Mara, 36, of Islands Brow, was arrested on June 19 for wasting police time and being a public nuisance following a series of calls to the emergency services.

Since 2009 he has contacted Merseyside Police 367 times, of which he has been aggrieved six times.

He has also contacted St Helens Council, Helena Housing, NW Ambulance Service and 5 Borough Partnerships a similar number of times wasting hundreds of hours of vital emergency service time.

Merseyside Police applied for a criminal behaviour order at the time of his arrest and St Helens magistrates court granted this order for a period of three years with the conditions - not to telephone any emergency services, St Helens Council or Helena Housing unless for a genuine reason. The penalty for doing so would be arrest and a possible prison sentence. 

Inspector Steve Lowe said: "The emergency services are there to provide a response to a genuine emergency. 

"Anyone misusing the service is wasting time and tying up staff who could be dealing with people who need help. I hope this acts as a deterrent to other people."

(MH/CD)

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