A man who called emergency services and told them he was going to blow up a building has been fined £1,000.

Jonathan Richard Fletcher pleaded guilty to making nuisance telephone calls and was also ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs by magistrates.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told the court how the emergency services joint control room received a 999 call from 53-year-old Fletcher on September 28 at 5.12am.

He said that he wanted police to evacuate a building at Horseshoe Avenue in Douglas because he was going to ’blow it up’.

Fletcher then followed up that call with another call, this time to a non-emergency number, saying: ’The building needs clearing before I blow it up.’

He then made two more calls using 999.

Fletcher, who lives at Mona Street in Douglas, was subsequently arrested, and when interviewed handed in a prepared statement admitting that he made the threats, but saying he had no intention to harm anyone.

The court heard that Fletcher has a lengthy record involving nuisance 999 calls.

Defence advocate Paul Rodgers asked the court to consider a conditional discharge and said that his client had a long history with mental health services.

lonely

’Mr Fletcher lives by himself and is often lonely,’ said the advocate.

’Regrettably he drinks for extensive periods, and that’s when he is vulnerable to making these calls.

’He regularly calls the crisis lines but sometimes calls emergency services when he is drunk.’

Mr Rodgers went on to say that emergency services were familiar with Fletcher’s history.

He continued: ’Regrettably this type of incident does keep on occurring but, in my submission, on a less frequent basis.’

Magistrates’ chair Geoff Collier told Fletcher: ’You’re potentially putting lives at risk. There may be people out there who genuinely need help who may not get it.

’There could be serious consequences of wasting police time. It has to stop and it has to stop now.

’We’ve heard you continue to drink heavily so it’s clear you have financial resources.’

Fletcher was ordered to pay the fine and costs at a rate of £15 per week, deducted from benefits.