Fire bosses have blasted a sinister hoaxer after they were scrambled TWICE to a reservoir by claims that a child and fishermen were drowning.

The latest incidents stand out because of the chilling way in which they were reported – by a man who, in a deadpan voice, calmly told the 999 operator people were drowning.

His callous calls cost the fire service an estimated £2,600 and endangered the lives of people in genuine need.

The first call was on May 28, reporting that two fishermen had fallen in the old Sykes Reservoirs, now fishing pools, at Dale Street, Edgeley.

The man claimed ‘one guy has fallen in and the other guy has gone in to help his mate and the other guy has gone under. I have run round to a phone box’.

Listen to the two hoax calls here:

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He asked if he should go round to help and the operator urged him ‘don’t go in the water, whatever you do’.

Whitehill and Stockport crews attended along with a Water Incident Unit from Eccles and a supporting crew from Heywood.

The second call on June 13 was for the same location. This time the caller said “some lad is fishing and he has fallen in. He is about 10. I saw him fall in but I can’t see him now”.

Again the 999 operator urged him not to go in the water himself. This time Stockport and Marple crews attended along with the Eccles water specialists.

Each time 15 firefighters spent more than an hour at the scene.

Chris Mycock, station commander for Stockport fire station, has appealed for people to come forward if they recognise the caller’s voice. He said: “We’ve obtained recordings of the calls – it was clearly the same person making purely fictitious claims. These were realistic scenarios and the kind of thing we do deal with.”

On each occasion, crews from Stockport and Eccles travelled to the reservoir and spent over an hour searching the water and river bank.

Mr Mycock added: “It’s putting so many people at risk and denying the people of Stockport the emergency cover they deserve so they can get their kicks. If someone can identify this person and report them we would be grateful.

“Even just the five vehicles travelling there is a big risk to other drivers on the road. It’s time, money and crews.”

He said the man had called from a public phone box so the calls were untraceable.

Greater Manchester Fire Service say there were 479 bogus calls last year and 635 the previous year.

Over the last year there have been 18 deaths in Manchester fires. There has been a 16pc drop in non-fatal casualties and a 6pc drop in false alarms, which are in a different category to malicious calls.

Area manager Dave Keelan, head of prevention for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service will take action against anyone behaving so recklessly and we regularly work with Greater Manchester Police to help them track down and prosecute anyone involved.”