AMBULANCE service and NHS call workers were tied up for the equivalent of a nearly working week dealing with hoax calls from a Caldicot man.

Jason Monks made 40 nuisance calls to the Welsh Ambulance service – including 40 in one day.

The 41-year-old now has a court order against him forbidding him to contact the 999 services unless it is for a genuine emergency.

The Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) imposed by Newport magistrates also prevents him from attending any accident and emergency department unless it is by appointment or for a genuine reason, not to contact the police unless it is to report a crime, not to use inappropriate language to emergency services staff – including asking for personal details – and not to prevent access to his address if emergency services are called to a genuine incident.

If Monks breaches any of the conditions in the next two years, he could face arrest and, if found guilty, may be fined, sentenced to imprisonment, or both.

Monks made the unnecessary calls to the ambulance service and NHS 111 Wales during a four-month period earlier this year.

Mike Jenkins, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s regional clinical lead-consultant paramedic for South East Wales, said: “Lots of our frequent callers are genuinely very unwell, but others – many of whom suffer with long-term medical or social problems – don’t always require an emergency response.

“In this case, the Welsh Ambulance Service and NHS 111 Wales spent more than 34 hours managing Monks’ unnecessary calls, often in times of high demand when our services could have been used to help other people in the community.

“Over the course of four months, Monks not only put other patients at risk, but subjected our staff to anti-social behaviour.

“Our staff are here to help people in their time of need and should be able to do so safely, without fear of abuse or assault.

“We welcome the two-year CBO and would ask the public to continue to use our services appropriately and treat emergency workers with respect."

Sargeant Lisa Parker, of Gwent Police, said: “We worked closely with the Welsh Ambulance Service and NHS partners in securing this two-year CBO – and it is a major achievement for everyone involved.

“The impact of this type of behaviour is significant in terms of resources, financial costs and potential risks to other people in the wider community who have a genuine need for the ambulance service.”said: “The conditions of the CBO do not prevent Monks from calling the emergency services where there is a genuine emergency.

“We hope that the CBO imposed on Monks serves as a warning to others that – with our partners – we will protect the members of our emergency services and the community when people are guilty of wasting the time and resources of the emergency services.”

The CBO was imposed at Newport Magistrates’ Court on Monday, October 9 and will remain in place until Thursday, October 9 2025.