Bognor man jailed after hoax call to police over workplace dispute
More than 20 officers were called out after Ashley Hall dialled 999
A Bognor man who made a hoax call in attempt to get his colleague into trouble with police has been jailed for 10 months.
Armed officers were among more than 20 sent to Burgess Hill on June 26th last year after Ashley Hall called them and reported seeing a man waving a machete out of the window of a car in the area.
During the call, made at 4.07pm that day, the defendant gave officers the vehicle registration and it was traced to a location in Brighton.
Police closed roads so the suspect, thought to be in possession of a weapon, could be safely detained.
At no point during the call did he claim to know the victim.
The victim was detained in Brighton and interviewed by officers who determined he was not in possession of a weapon and had not been in Burgess Hill at the time of the allegation.
In police interviews, Hall, who is 26 and of The Nurseries, admitted the report he made to police about the victim was untrue.
He confessed that he wanted to get the victim in trouble following a workplace disagreement and wished to scare him by calling police.
Hall pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at Lewes Crown Court on December 2nd.
On February 26th he appeared at the same court and was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment.
Chief Inspector Roy Hodder of Sussex Police said:
"This fabricated event wasted a huge amount of police time and resources which is completely unacceptable.
"Our priority is to ensure callers get through as quickly as possible so we can respond swiftly to genuine emergencies and be where we are needed the most.
"We will not let people get away with putting lives at risk through hoax calls and I'd like to thank the officers who worked on this investigation and helped to bring Hall to justice for his irresponsible actions.
"We take every call we receive seriously so would urge people to make the right call and please only dial 999 in a genuine emergency. For non-urgent police matters please report online or call 101.
"To see if your concern is a police matter please see check our website here."