Moray man in court for false emergency calls
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A man from Moray has appeared in court after he phoned emergency services a total of 150 times in two years.
Gordon Stuart would sometimes have fallen asleep when the police or paramedics got to his home on Anderson Drive in Elgin.
On other occasions he could become aggressive and abusive.
During the months of September and October last year Stuart was responsible for 30 separate call-outs.
Procurator Fiscal Karen Poke described the 57-year-old as "someone who is very well known to the police, ambulance service and the staff at Dr Gray's".
Defence solicitor Iain Maltman stated that his client had a "fairly lengthy record" until 2008.
At that point, however, his offending stopped for a long period as he'd begun to look after his mother who was suffering from ill health.
Mr Maltman said "It seemed to give his life some structure. However her death in 2019 was something that set him back considerably."
The defendant admitted two specific incidents.
On the first occasion he called NHS 24 and stated that he'd taken an overdose.
However medical checks later revealed he had nothing in his system except for alcohol.
On the second, after stating he'd suffered a blackout, an ambulance took him to Dr Gray's where he was assessed as being okay.
He returned to his home address, but then called again half an hour later.
Mr Maltman stated that, despite all the false calls, Stuart suffered physical problems and sometimes had a genuine reason for ringing.
He said: "Mr Stuart has demonstrated some insight into just how difficult he was to deal with during that period.
"He has apologised for the time wasted by him."
Mr Maltman added that his client had now been sober for the best part of three months and was engaging with Moray Drug and Alcohol Services.
Sheriff David Sullivan ordered Stuart to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work for the community within the next year.
He also placed him under the supervision of the court for the next 12 months.
