Patrick Matthews, a 58-year-old from Eastbourne, has been imprisoned for eight weeks after making over 750 nuisance calls to the Sussex and Essex Police departments. Spanning from October 2022 to April 2023, Matthews was responsible for 436 calls to Sussex Police and 304 to Essex Police, primarily involving hoaxes, and some included abusive and threatening language.
Matthews initially pleaded guilty on July 5 to persistently misusing a public communication network to cause annoyance, inconvenience, or anxiety. Despite being released on unconditional bail, he continued his behaviour, making 14 additional hoax calls to Sussex Police by the next day. This led to his arrest and a strict bail condition to avoid contacting Sussex Police unless in a true emergency.
