A man who made a hoax call about a shotgun has been fined £1,000.

Mark Sinclair rang emergency services and claimed that there was a man walking around Hillside Avenue in Douglas with the weapon.

The call resulted in 16 police officers becoming involved and more than 25 hours of police time being wasted.

Prosecuting advocate Rachael Braidwood told this week told the High Bailiff that Sinclair called emergency services from his Hillside Avenue home on August 28 last year at 12.25am.

The 33-year-old said: ’There’s a man walking with a shotgun at Hillside Avenue.’

Sinclair did not identify himself but used his mobile phone which later led to him being identified.

Police declared a firearms incident and firearms officers were dispatched to the location.

Sinclair was spoken to on the phone again and was believed to be intoxicated.

He denied making the initial call but during the conversation, again mentioned a shotgun, which police had not told him about.

He was then said to have become agitated and hung up.

Sinclair was arrested and said: ’I don’t have any shotguns. I lost my phone. I only had it in the last 20 minutes.’

After being taken to police headquarters he said: ’It’s a prank phone call that’s gone too far.’

During an interview, Sinclair said that he had been at home with his partner and left his mobile phone at his bedside.

He claimed that when he woke up it was missing and his partner had found it in another room.

He said he recalled the police ringing him and confirmed that he was the only adult male at the property, but still denied making a 999 call.

However, the call was reviewed and the voice on the phone matched Sinclair.

In court, he pleaded guilty to wasting police time.

Ms Braidwood said that the call had meant that 16 officers were involved in the incident and a total of 25 hours and 10 minutes of police time had been wasted.

The court heard that Sinclair’s last conviction was 15 years ago.

probation

A probation report said that community service was not a viable option due to Sinclair’s work commitments and probation was not appropriate as he had no ongoing issues which he required assistance with.

He declined the use of an advocate and opted to represent himself in court.

Sinclair told High Bailiff Jayne Hughes that he had little recollection of the incident as he had been drinking, and said he wanted to apologise for doing it.

He said that he had stopped drinking since the incident.

High Bailiff Mrs Hughes also ordered him to pay £125 prosecution costs.

He agreed to pay the fine and costs at a rate of £15 per week.