A NUISANCE 999 caller who describes himself as “Victor Meldrew” has been ordered to pay more than £1,000.

Roy Haines, 68, says he was calling to report a driver who he believed did not have insurance, tax, a licence or an MoT, but accepts he got angry while on the phone.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of persistently making use of the public communication network to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety when he appeared at Basildon Magistrates’ Court.

He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a further £125 in costs and a victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, Haines, of Laindon Common Road, Little Burstead, described the outcome as fair and said he was hoping to move on from it.

He said: “I started off, I am pretty sure, calling the local station until they hung up and then I went to 999 because I was sure a crime was being committed.

“When they didn’t want to listen to me, I got very annoyed.

“When the police came round I said ‘I knowwhat I’m like when I’m angry – I’m a Victor Meldrew clone’. I didn’t phone up with the intention of causing intimidation.”

It was said he had shouted over call centre staff.

The court heard he had a number of previous convictions for nuisance calls dating back to 1999.

Mark Pearson, mitigating, said: “My understanding is it is not so much abuse, but abuse of the system and causing annoyance.

“He gets upset with various issues tied to personal circumstances and when he is on his own, he drinks.

When he drinks, he phones the services and rambles.”

He added that at the time of making the calls, Haines believed he had a genuine issue, but on reflection understood his behaviour could have caused upset.

District Judge John Woollard said: “Hopefully the fine will make you think a little more carefully about these phone calls and if you carry on you could even find yourself going to prison, so be very careful about doing this in the future.”