Phone pest's 'sorry' record of nuisance calls

Jail has had no effect on a phone pest who persists in making nuisance calls to the emergency services, a court was told.

Elizabeth Gibson, Coul Park, Alness, made 14 silent calls to the emergency services over 24 hours – just 12 days after finishing a prison sentence for the same offence.

The 21-year-old was arrested and released on bail – only to abuse the service again, using a phone box as her mobile had been taken off her.

When she was arrested yet again, she behaved so violently, kicking out at police officers, that she had to be put in leg restraints.

Gibson’s latest spate of offending began on March 19, Tain Sheriff Court was told on Monday.

Roderick Urquhart, prosecuting, said emergency services received 14 silent 999 calls from a mobile phone which police knew belonged to Elizabeth Gibson. She was arrested and her mobile phone confiscated.

But on March 24 and March 25 Gibson made further 999 calls from telephone boxes close to her home. In one call she said: “I am going to kill myself”, before terminating the connection.

A police officer who knew Gibson listened to recordings of the calls and confirmed it was her. When police went to pick her up, she resisted arrest, kicking out repeatedly at officers.

Mr Urquhart said: “She eventually had to be held down on the ground but she continued kicking out until leg restraints were applied.”

At Monday’s court, Gibson appeared from custody to admit the March 24 and 25 contraventions of the Communications Act and also pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting a police officer.

She had previously admitted contravening the Communications Act on various occasions at her home on March 19 and 20.

Defence agent Neil Wilson said his client’s record was a “sorry litany of offending and jail sentences.” She had been released from her last jail sentence on March 8.

He said: “Psychiatric assessment has been tried before and that did not work. The psychiatrist is as bemused as everyone else at her behaviour.”

The lawyer suggested Gibson might benefit from a community order with social work supervision.

Sheriff Chris Dickson deferred sentence until May 13 for background reports and also to ascertain what programme requirements Gibson would need.

He told her: “You have been in prison on numerous occasions and you keep committing the same offence.

“If you commit any further offences, then it is back in prison for you. This is a chance to see if you can stop offending and engage with the support offered to you.”