A man has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrates’ Court charged with persistent improper use of public electronic communication after allegedly 10 calls were made to the ambulance services.

Mariusz Kucinski (37) of Hall Crescent in Maghera in County Derry was charged after allegedly making a number of false calls to emergency services on October 16.

The first call was to police in relation to a domestic matter, and police resolved a verbal incident involving Kucinski and his brother, the court heard.

This was followed by four more calls that were deemed to be fraudulent, the court was told.

placeholder image — Bishop Street Courthouse

Police later heard from the ambulance service that Kucinski had allegedly made ten calls to them with no reason to do so.

When interviewed, the accused told officers that the five calls to police were genuine.

He also told police that the first call to the ambulance service was out of concern for his brother, and that the second call was to cancel the first.

He had no explanation for the other eight, Derry Magistrates’ Court was told.

The court heard that Kucinski had a 'very relevant record' with a number of suspended sentences and that he had a probation order for the same offences.

Defence Barrister Fergal McCormick told Derry Magistrates’ Court that Kucinski's record 'speaks for itself', noting the seven suspended sentences that had been resuspended on September 16 of this year.

Bail was refused and the defendant is scheduled to appear again at Derry Magistrates’ Court in November 10.