Hoax Mayday call that wasted £20,000

Nov 26 2007 by Graeme Whitfield, The Journal

A HOAX Mayday call sparked a large-scale rescue mission costing up to £20,000, coastguards said yesterday.

Humber Coastguard received the call late on Friday night from someone saying they were a skipper of a sinking boat.

The hoaxer said the boat was en route from the Tyne to Hartlepool and that three people had abandoned ship and were drifting in a life raft.

A couple were later found in a car in Whitburn, South Tyneside, in possession of a VHF, or marine, radio but police were unable to establish whether it had been used to make the call. An RNLI spokesman said yesterday: “All-weather lifeboats from Tynemouth and Hartlepool, together with the two inshore lifeboats from Sunderland, were all launched in good faith to go to the rescue of people in distress at sea.”

An RAF Sea King helicopter was also deployed in the search, and to call it out alone cost around £4,000. An RNLI spokesman said: ‘This sickening hoax took up valuable rescue resources which could have been needed elsewhere.

‘The deplorable actions of this person could have unnecessarily endangered the lives of anyone who may have been in genuine distress at sea, and our volunteer crew members.”

The RNLI lifeboats used equipment to try to pinpoint the caller who had made several weak calls by VHF marine radio.

Officers soon realised that the bearings from the VHF radio pointed to the caller actually being on land.

But as a precaution, the lifeboats and helicopter kept searching until they were sure that there was no one in danger.

A couple parked in a car in Whitburn, were found with a VHF radio by a patrolling officer of Northumbria Police.

Communications supervisor Martin Murray said: “One of our patrolling officers saw what they thought was a flare in the area.

“Later, two people were spoken to in a car that was parked up nearby in Whitburn.

“We spoke to the coastguards and they informed us they suspected that there had been a hoax call.”

Mr Murray explained that they could not prove whether the couple had been involved in the hoax.

He said: “So long as you are only receiving messages then it’s fine. There’s no offence for being in possession of such a radio and listening to the transmissions.”

The search lasted for two hours.

The RNLI is a registered charity and relies on voluntary contributions.

Three die as boat sinks: Page 14