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Judge's fury as hoax call teen walks free
A TEEN who made a hoax 999 call to the fire service which led to the death of a Sheffield mother-of-two has walked free from court after a judge said he didn't have the power to jail him.
Ian Paterson, aged 17, was slapped with a three year antisocial behaviour order because of age but was told had he been two months older he would have faced a jail term.
Describing the case as one of the worst he had ever dealt with, District Judge John Foster told Doncaster Youth Court he was 'astonished' Paterson would still only have faced three months in prison had he been an adult.
He said: "What has astonished me is that the powers I have to deal with this case are so limited. You deserve to lose your liberty for a significant period of time."
The court heard Paterson, of no fixed abode, admitted making three hoax calls on June 26 and 27 and 29, one of which resulted in a fire engine crashing into a car driven by Nicola Stacey, aged 36, of Valentine Crescent, Shiregreen.
She died in the smash at the junction of Attercliffe Common and Weedon Street, near Meadowhall, and her 10-year-old daughter, Lauren was critically injured.
Police traced the phone number used to make the call and arrested Paterson who was found sleeping rough in a car.
He had been disowned by his family.
He told police he made the hoax calls because he was 'bored' and because he got a 'buzz' from making them.
Judge Foster said: "As a result of your action someone lost their life and a young child was very seriously hurt.
"You should know that when you call the emergency services and they are responding to that call lives may be put at risk. The consquences of what happened on the night of June 29 could have been foreseen by you."
The tragedy happened when Paterson rang the fire service to report a warehouse blaze on old Sheffield Road, Rotherham.
Fire engines from Rotherham and Darnall sped to the scene and a Sheffield engine crashed into Nicola's Subaru Impreza en route.
The Rotherham crew arrived to find there was no blaze.
Paterson was given a 12 month referral order and a three year antisocial behaviour order.
Speaking after the case, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service area manager Mark Shaw said: "Without this call being made, a serious road crash involving death and life-threatening injuries would not have occurred.
"Therefore, we are disappointed a custodial sentence was not available in these circumstances.
"The message from us is still loud and clear - those who make hoax 999 calls can be identified and we will always seek to take action with the help of our partners at the police."
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
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