A 58-year-old man has been bound over to keep the peace for a year.

Ian Alfred Kaneen was initially charged with making nuisance 999 calls, but that charge was withdrawn after he agreed to accept the binding order.

Prosecuting advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that Kaneen called 999 and told police he was at a bus stop in Baldrine.

He claimed that he had been involved in an altercation and Irish travellers had chased him.

Police arrived at the scene, but found no evidence that any incident had occurred.

They warned Kaneen not to call 999 unless it was an emergency, but just over half an hour later he rang again.

He claimed that the police thought he was joking but he said he wasn’t.

Officers said that his story didn’t add up and that there was no evidence, so he was arrested for misuse of a public telecommunications network.

Ms Dodge said that the police had been called in bad weather for no reason.

Kaneen, who said that he had been staying at a hostel but was moving to an address in Ramsey, was represented in court by duty advocate Louise Cooil, who said that her client was willing to accept the binding order.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood issued the binding order with a recognisance of £500.