Hoax caller convicted

Wheelchair-bound Steven Sheppard, 53, of Blackman Avenue in St Leonards, called out the police and fire brigade to fake incidents in Sidley six times in one month.

At a court hearing in Hastings, Mark Kateley, prosecuting, said Sheppard rang firefighters on October 4 claiming there was a fire in the woods.

Four days later he made another false call to emergency services that there was a car alight in Buckholt Lane.

Firefighters received a hoax call from Sheppard on October 21, this time about another fire in the woods.

The next day police got a call from him saying there was a fight but this also proved to be a hoax.

Mr Kateley said: “The defendant made his last two calls on November 3. The first was a claim that there was a man going around Gunters Lane with a knife and machete.

“Later that same day police got another call saying there was a man with a knife sticking out of him in Buckholt Lane.”

Magistrates heard that more than 70 man hours of police and firefighters’ time were wasted and the cost of each call-out averaged £250 to the public purse.

Sheppard, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to six counts of making false messages at an earlier court hearing on January 10.

He appeared on Monday to be sentenced.

Samantha Wingfield, defending, said: “He cannot recall the reason why he committed these offences and if he knew he would tell the court. He has suffered a stroke and paralysed on the left side.

“The defendant feels genuine regret over these offences.”

Magistrates gave Sheppard a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered £40 costs.

Sergeant Trisha Reeve-Fowkes from Bexhill Neighbourhood Police Team said: “Hoax calls have a huge impact on the resources of emergency services both financially and physically.”

Andy Watson, an Arson & Incident Reduction Officer at ESFRS, added: “We take hoax calls extremely seriously and we will not hesitate to work with partners to track down these culprits. At the of the day hoax calls may seem like harmless fun, but they can result in loss of life as resources can be diverted away from another incident which requires our attention.”