Woman faces jail after making hundreds of hoax 999 calls Published duration 29 December 2011

image caption Kerry Ann Moate was arrested at home after police traced her mobile phone

A teenager from Cambridgeshire has been warned she faces a possible jail term after making 756 silent 999 calls over the Christmas weekend.

Kerry Ann Moate, 18, of Samuel Jones Crescent, Little Paxton, was arrested at home after police traced her phone.

Huntingdon Magistrates' Court heard Moate dialled the emergency services repeatedly between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

She admitted making the calls and will be sentenced in February.

Prosecutors said Moate also made 44 hoax 999 calls between 11 December and 13 December.

'Public in danger'

She was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday and charged with "persistently making use of public communication networks to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety".

The court was told police had classed finding Moate as "critical" because her actions were putting the public in danger.

Moate has a history of similar offences. Her defence solicitor told the court her client did not know why she had done it.

Magistrates warned her she could be jailed.

'Completely unacceptable'

Superintendent Paul Fullwood, of Cambridgeshire police, said: "The sheer volume of malicious calls was extremely disruptive to the force at a time of year that is always busy for police.

"Every time someone misuses the 999 they are potentially putting others lives at risk.

"This is especially true when we receive a large number of nuisance calls as it impacts on how quickly other emergency calls are answered.