RNLI lifeboat crew member made 19 hoax rescue calls ‘to get called out to sea’
A lifeboat crew member made a series of hoax coastguard calls in a bid to be sent out to sea.
Leon Marandola, 20, got in touch with the coastguard 19 times while he was a member of the Buckie RNLI crew in Moray, Scotland.
The incidents took place between June 17 and August 25, 2019.
Marandola allegedly came up with the fake “disasters” because he didn’t have the experience to get called out.
A source told The Sun: “He was so eager to get out on the lifeboat he didn’t stop to think about the chaos he was causing.
“Leon thought if he came up with loads of ‘disasters’ he’d get called out. But it was all for nothing. He didn’t get sent out a single time.
“To get out on emergencies with the boat you need experience. And he didn’t have that.”
Marandola admitted sending the messages for the purpose of causing "annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety" to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency [MCA] at Elgin Sheriff Court.
His defence lawyer Kevin Anderson said he was pleading guilty.
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Marandola, who has previously won awards for charity work, will be sentenced in June.
Detective constable John Riddell, of Elgin Police Station, said: “Marandola abused his position making a series of hoax calls which not only caused considerable expense to the organisations but moreover put staff and volunteers at unnecessary risk.”
He added: “Hoax calls cost lives. Every false or inappropriate call takes up precious time of the emergency service and prevents someone who really needs immediate help from getting it.
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“We will not hesitate to arrest and charge those who misuse the 999 system or make hoax contact to any emergency service.”
A spokeswoman for the RNLI said: “We stand with our colleagues in Police Scotland and the Coastguard in condemning the behaviour of those who make hoax calls.
“Calls of this nature, where the perpetrator knows no life is at risk, not only waste time and resources but also endanger the lives of those who could need our services, only to find them unavailable or able to reach them in time.”
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