Man admits 'foot fetish' nuisance calls costing the NHS £21,000

A man has admitted making hundreds of nuisance calls to the NHS 111 line in order to indulge a "sexual foot fetish", police said.

Richard William Cove, 45, from Worthing, West Sussex, made more than 1,200 calls, costing the NHS £21,000.

Pretending to be an elderly woman, he would ask call handlers about their feet, Sussex Police said.

PC David Quayle said Cove had admitted making the calls "for his own enjoyment and personal benefit".

"He said he had a sexual foot fetish which he indulged during most of the calls," PC Quayle said.

An investigation began in 2019 after members of the public said they had been contacted by clinicians about NHS 111 calls they had not made.

Between April 2019 and April 2021 the NHS 111 service identified 1,263 nuisance calls linked to an individual using "false personal details, false telephone numbers and false ailments," police said.

Many of calls led to clinicians responding and in some cases ambulances were dispatched.

David Davis of South East Coast Ambulance Service, which runs the telephone service in the region, said the impact of the calls "should not be underestimated".

"Just one malicious and false call puts lives at risk by diverting our attention and resources away from people in genuine need of our help," he said.

"The nature of the calls have also caused unnecessary distress to our staff who are working tirelessly get people the help they require," he added.

Cove, of Boundary Road, Worthing, admitted one count of making malicious communications.

He will be sentenced at Worthing Magistrates Court on 13 September.

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