Lifeboat crews on the Aberdeenshire coast were out in force this evening following a hoax call.
Rescue teams were scrambled at around 4.45pm after someone was heard shouting mayday on the radio.
Teams from both Peterhead and Fraserburgh carried out a thorough search of the surrounding coastline after the alarm was raised.
Launched from Fraserburgh, Grampian about twenty minutes ago – https://t.co/POExKFTZ4D
— RNLI: Out On A Shout (@outonashout) January 13, 2023
The search uncovered no vessel or person in distress.
A spokeswoman from HM Coastguard said the incident was believed to be a hoax, possibly one of “malicious intent.”
History of hoax calls in area
Rescue teams across the north-east are no stranger to hoax calls.
In 2020, a 19-year-old Moray teenager was charged after making calls about a string of fake emergencies between July 2019 and September 2020.
The previous year, the number of prank calls on the North Sea coast from Brora down to Stonehaven more than doubled from 13 malicious calls in 2018 to 30 the following year.
Emergency crews have warned that hoax calls not only put the lives of rescuers at risk, but they may also divert them from responding to genuine calls for help.