KITCHEN porter Paul Davey tried to kill himself in a fit of remorse after he called out three fire engines to a club where he had been refused entry, a court heard.

Davey's solicitor Geoffrey Rogers told magistrates that within four days of sending firefighters racing to Jimmy's nightclub in King's Road, Harrogate, Davey took an overdose of a drug prescribed to help him with his epilepsy.

He was taken to Harrogate District Hospital and detained overnight. Mr Rogers said Davey, 31, made the 999 call on his mobile in a fit of anger after he and a friend were denied entry to a number of clubs in Harrogate.

Prosecutor Peter Scott told Harrogate magistrates that the cost of turning out the appliances on a call that occupied firefighters for an hour was £834.

Mr Scott said Davey, of Nidd Vale Terrace, Harrogate, and a friend had earlier been warned by police about abuse of the 999 system after a series of calls to the North Yorkshire force control room, complaining about being refused entry to clubs.

The pair had been watched by security cameras and had been seen to be denied admission to four clubs because they were drunk and abusive. The call to the fire brigade had been traced to Davey's phone.

When Davey pleaded guilty to giving a false fire alarm he was given a 12-month community rehabilitation order and told by presiding magistrate David Davies: "For goodness sake keep away from alcohol."

He was also ordered to pay the full compensation bill to North Yorkshire Fire Brigade and £60 costs.