WICKFORD: Pc head-butted by teen making hoax calls

A TEENAGER head-butted a police officer after making a series of hoax calls to the emergency services.

Ty Madden, 19, was drinking beer at a property in Leasway, Wickford, on December 12 when he rang the fire brigade and police to report bogus fires and burglaries.

Madden, of Beambridge Mews, Pitsea, appeared at Basildon Magistrates Court last Wednesday.

Vivienne Perry, prosecuting, said: "Phone calls were made from the number of Mr Madden, reporting burglaries.

"Police attended and spoke to Mr Madden, who was abusive and denied making the calls.

"The police then left, but returned after further calls had been made to 999 and found Mr Madden again being abusive."

The police then checked Madden's phone records and found the calls had come from his number.

The prosecution continued: "When police tried to arrest Mr Madden he became aggressive and head-butted an officer.

"When interviewed, he said he'd been drunk, and had made three calls but could not say why.

"He agreed with the police's verdict of events, except for the head-butt, which he said was more a coming together of heads."

Madden pleaded guilty to sending messages he knew to be false for a purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety to another and resisting a police officer in the execution of his duties.

Natalie Callow, defending, asked the court to take into account his guilty pleas and his frank admissions.

Madden is already serving a 26-week sentence for aggravated vehicle-taking and is due to be released in March.

Presiding magistrate Elizabeth Hunter said: "We are sending you to a young offenders' institute for 12 weeks.

"This will run concurrently with the sentence you are already serving."

A recent report in the Gazette revealed that 44 per cent of all fire emergency calls attended in the Billericay and Wickford area last year were either a hoax call or a false alarm.

Deputy chief fire officer Gordon Hunter said: "Hoax calls are an unnecessary drain on the community's resources, as a service we still deal with more than three a day.

"The hoax call problem not only costs money, it also consumes valuable resources and it could potentially cost people's lives."