AN initiative to combat the growing menace of hoax 999 calls from phone boxes has been launched by Cleveland Fire Brigade and BT Payphones.

Last year, more than half of the five million calls made to the emergency services from BT phone boxes were false or malicious calls and research shows that it is the fire brigade which is worst affected.

The fire service estimates that on more than 81,000 occasions last year, fire engines attended false alarms as a result of malicious calls and more than 2,511 of these were made to Cleveland Fire Brigade.

Cleveland Fire Brigade, along with other forces across the country, has identified the worst affected kiosks in the area and BT is fitting these with posters warning against the dangers of hoax calls.

The telecommunications firm is also to visit primary schools to take part in activities designed to make the children think about the serious implications of hoax calls.

Malcolm Newing, director of BT Payphones, said: "Cleveland isn't the worst area in the country for hoax calls, but the figures are worryingly high. Most false 999 calls are made by children and although the culprits are generally in their teens, we're convinced that getting the safety message across to younger children will prevent them getting involved in this kind of activity when they get older."

Keith Reid, assistant divisional officer with Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: "Malicious calls reduce the efficiency of any fire service because, obviously, fire engines cannot be in two places at once. If crews are responding to hoax calls, they are not available to answer genuine calls for help.

"Any delay in attending an emergency could mean the difference between life and death."