A man who “persistently and needlessly” put a drain on emergency services has been jailed. Robert Humphreys Trevelyan, 39, of Haulfryn, Ruthin, called 999 dozens of times, often verbally abusing police and ambulance service call handlers.

From January 2026, he made 74 nuisance 999 calls. The Welsh Ambulance Service estimated that before this, in the month of December 2025 alone, his behaviour had cost their service close to £10,000, with more than 16 ambulances being sent out to him.

The defendant was already serving a suspended prison sentence for unrelated offences, when he was involved in several incidents, as a result of being intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, Police said this behaviour had had “a significant impact on the wider community”.

Following his arrest for offences involving members of the public, Trevelyan began a series of calls to emergency services, often being verbally abusive to police and ambulance service call handlers, and he subsequently refused to engage with partner support agencies.

Trevelyan was arrested, and despite being released with bail conditions not to contact emergency services unless in a genuine emergency, he continued to ring North Wales Police and the Welsh Ambulance Service whilst intoxicated.

Trevelyan made a total of 35 emergency 999 calls between May 24 and his further arrest on June 17, 2026. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox

Trevelyan was subsequently charged with the following offences:

Two counts of assaulting an emergency workerPossession of a class B drugCriminal damageCommon assaulta hate related offence under the Communications Act 2003Two counts of persistently making use of a public communication network to cause annoyance/inconvenience/anxietyCausing to be sent by a public communication network an offensive/indecent/obscene/menacing message/mattertwo counts of an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Actand wilful obstruction of a highway.

The court heard how Trevelyan’s course of conduct placed a significant demand on both emergency services.

At court last week, his previously suspended sentence was activated, and he was sentenced to 84 weeks in prison, with a three year Criminal Behaviour Order put in place.

As part of his Criminal Behaviour Order, on his release, Trevelyan is prohibited from contacting North Wales Police or the Welsh Ambulance Service unless in a genuine emergency.

Speaking after sentencing, PC Ffion Montgomery said: “This sentence sends a clear message that anyone misusing the 999 service will be dealt with robustly.

“Abuse of the 999 lines delays us speaking to those reporting genuine emergencies, and abuse of call handlers who are there to help will not be tolerated.” Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone