A young father of two who tried to help his friend avoid police detection by claiming a mass brawl was taking place in a north-east village has been jailed.
Martin Brooks from Fraserburgh made the 999 call from a phone box on the town’s Gallowhill Terrace on May 19.
He told the operator gangs armed with knives and metal poles were clashing on a street nearly two miles away in the quiet fishing village of Sandhaven.
The call to the emergency services led to two armed police units and eight local officers making their way to the scene only to find nothing of a violent nature taking place.
Yesterday, Brooks appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court and admitted wasting police time as part of a “misguided” and “foolhardy” scheme.
Depute fiscal Hannah Chisholm told the court police officers visited Brooks’ home as part of a missing person investigation before moving on to another address.
She said when the visited the other home, the curtains were closed and the keys were on the inside of the door.
Ms Chisholm said police then received an emergency call from someone who said there was a fight taking place in a nearby village.
She told the court: “Officers received a 999 call reporting a disturbance at Clinton Drive in Sandhaven.
“The caller claimed there was a fight involving knifes and a metal pole.
“Two fire arms units attended and when they arrived established that no such incident had taken place.
“It was later established the accused had made the call.”
Defence agent Sam Milligan said Brooks was unwisely attempting to help out one of his friends dodge the police.
He revealed the 23-year-old had already spent a month behind bars after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing, meaning he missed the birth of his second child.
“The time between the placing of the call and his arrest was 25 minutes,” Mr Milligan said:
“He accepts this was a misguided and foolhardy attempt at helping his friend avoid the police.
“During his time in custody his partner gave birth to their second child and that has not been without its difficulties.”
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood slammed Brooks for calling the police out to an incident he had just made up.
He said: “This was a deliberately planned act to waste police time.”
Sheriff Fleetwood sentenced Brooks, of Moray Place, Fraserburgh, to four months behind bars.