Hoax caller jailed for blundering North Wales rescue teams
A 23-year-old man from Stockton has been slammed behind bars for making fake emergency calls that wasted precious rescue resources in North Wales.
Michael Cuminskey was sentenced to 16 months in prison at Caernarfon Crown Court today (Friday, 12 January) for a hoax call on 25 March 2016.
Fake call triggers costly mountain rescue mobilisation
Cuminskey falsely claimed a man had fallen in the Dinorwig area, sparking an immediate response from the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team and the HM Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter.
PC Gethin Jones of North Wales Police hit out at the call, saying: “Hoax calls put lives at risk and are a costly and wasteful use of resources. Cuminskey showed a complete disregard for this fact.”
He added: “This particular incident is estimated to have cost the public purse over £32,000 – unforgivable. The helicopter was tied up when it could have been saving real lives.”
Mountain rescuers stretched to the limit
Phil Benbow, Chair of the North Wales Mountain Rescue Association, weighed in with some staggering stats.
- Mountain Rescue Teams answered nearly 600 calls last year – a record high for their 350 volunteers.
- The Llanberis team alone attended 213 incidents.
- They rely entirely on voluntary donations to keep running.
Benbow said: “Unnecessary calls like this hit us hard. We welcome today’s sentencing and have supported North Wales Police throughout the investigation.”
Police warn: Hoax calls won’t be tolerated
Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on Search and Rescue, stressed the serious impact of prank calls.
“Mountain Rescue teams in Snowdonia are staffed entirely by volunteers doing a tough job. North Wales is one of the busiest rescue areas in the UK.”
“Unnecessary calls waste time and clog the 999 system. The courts take this very seriously – this case should serve as a stark warning to anyone thinking of making hoax calls.”
