Warrnambool man charged after hoax calls made to triple zero

Police have charged a 23-year-old Warrnambool man over a series of hoax calls to triple-zero where he allegedly claimed crashes occurred that didn’t happen.

Police have charged a 23-year-old Warrnambool man in his Janlor Street home over a series of hoax calls to triple-zero earlier this year.

The man allegedly made four hoax calls to triple zero reporting serious road collisions between February 12 and March 21.

It is believed in one report the man notified triple-zero of a three-car collision on Aberline Road and Whites Road in Warrnambool with trapped occupants, oil and debri on the road – but it wasn’t real.

In another call he allegedly reported a car versus truck crash.

All emergency services responded on scene to the reports, only to confirm there were no crashes.

Warrnambool region tasking and coordination inspector Josh Tink said making hoax calls to emergency services was selfish and robbed the community of emergency services.

“Making a hoax call to emergency services is a despicable and selfish act, which ultimately robs the rest of the community of access to valuable emergency services such as police, ambulances and firefighters,” he said.

“Emergency personnel are at the ready to respond to life-threatening incidents in our community. Hoax calls such as these divert critical resources away from where they are needed most, costing not just money and time, but potentially lives.

“Police have zero tolerance for people who think it’s somehow funny to report a fake incident. We will find you and make sure you face the consequences for your actions, which are certainly no joke.”

The man was charged on Monday with four counts of making a ‘vexatious’ call to emergency services.

He was also charged with three counts of possessing imitation firearms after police seized the fake firearms from his Warrnambool home.  

The man was remanded and will face Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court on May 23.