Hoax caller to county council is a 'sad individual'

A local councillor has criticised the person behind a ‘bogus’ call recently made to Mayo County Council claiming a tree had fallen on a major roadway.

Cllr Michael Burke said a hoax call was made to council staff during the last weekend of September in which the caller claimed that a tree had fallen on the N84 road.

Cllr Burke praised the staff member who handled the call and established that no such event had taken place and was able to avoid sending out council staff.

He described the person who had made the call as a "sad" individual.

“It could have been a huge waste of public resources and it could have diverted services away from a real emergency,” he said.

“If that’s all those people have for doing for themselves on a day like that, it’s very sad for them.”

He added that the person called from an unregistered number and it was not possible to identify them.