The number of malicious calls to Tayside Fire and Rescue has risen.
The figure currently sits at 166, an increase on the 121 calls made between April 2010 and March 2011, with four months of this financial year still to go.
Dundee bore the brunt September 2011 being the worst month, with 19 calls made to the fire station control room.
There were 54 hoax calls made to the fire service up to the turn of the year, a fall from 76 in the previous financial year.
Tayside Fire and Rescue does not attend ‘hoax’ calls and therefore does not count this as an incident on its records.
The majority of the malicious calls arose when people phoned 999, with a large percentage made from mobile phones.
Tayside Fire and Rescue said it could not provide details on the financial implications as they ”do not record the estimated costs”.
Of the malicious calls, Dundee had a total of 117 up to the end of December last year. Perth had 33, with Angus having 16.
Dundee also had the most malicious calls from April 2010 to March 2011, with a total of 143. Perth had 37 and Angus had 44.
Councillor Alexander Stewart, leader of the Conservative group at Perth and Kinross Council and a member of Tayside Joint Fire and Rescue Board, said he deplored the hoax calls which ”put lives at risk.”