Listen to a recording of one of Irons' drunken calls to 101 in the video above

A SEX offender has been jailed after abusing emergency call handlers when he repeatedly dialled 999 when drunk.

Pensioner Derek Irons, from Hatton, became the oldest person in Warrington to be handed an ASBO in 2005 – which banned him from calling the emergency services without good reason.

But the 75-year-old, of Goose Lane, called 999 and 101 a total of 22 times between 11pm on Sunday, July 21, and 8am on Monday, July 22, using two different mobile phones.

At no point did he report any ongoing incidents.

Warrington Guardian:

Derek Irons

The majority of calls were abusive, with Irons swearing at staff on the other end.

In one call to the non-emergency 101 number, he said: “I bet you can’t guess who I am.

“I’m going to give you all my life story – I’m drunk you see, that’s all.

“I know I’m forbidden from ringing 999 – are you 101?

“That’s great, how much a minute am I being charged?

“15p, is that all?

“You know the government’s going to shut you down next year don’t you?”

The convicted sex offender was handed a wide-ranging and indefinite ASBO 14 years ago after becoming a ‘village menace’ in Hatton.

He would attempt to befriend children on their way to school, peer through residents’ windows and turn up on their doorsteps before asking questions of a sexual nature.

On one occasion, he walked into a house uninvited and made himself a cup of tea.

The ASBO prevented Irons from starting fires, exposing himself or urinating in public, speaking to anyone under 16 or a woman without consent and entering an exclusion zone on Hatton Lane.

He was also prevented from entering private property, riding buses at times when children would be travelling to and from school and being drunk or carrying alcohol in a public place.

Warrington Guardian:

Irons outside Warrington Magistrates Court in 2005

Irons admitted four breaches of a criminal behaviour order at Warrington Magistrates Court on Wednesday, July 31, and was handed 26 weeks behind bars.

Force control centre manager Dave McMahon said: “Irons’ drunken calls could have delayed a genuine emergency call from the public.

“He was also a nuisance to staff in the force control centre who had to endure his abuse.

“Despite the criminal behaviour order put in place to prevent him from making these calls, he chose to ignore it and is now serving 26 weeks for the repeated breach.

“Call handlers have a very important role to play and they are the first point of contact when the public need the police’s help.

“They are often dealing with very complex and difficult live situations, making calls like these extremely disrupting and preventing them from dealing with those who really need our help.

“I hope this highlights to others that we do investigate cases where members of the public misuse the emergency and non-emergency lines, and will seek a prosecution for those who continue to potentially put others at risk and abuse our staff.”