Samuel Crouch, 23, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court in January to four counts of making vexatious calls to emergency services.

On March 9 he was jailed for four months, which was wholly suspended.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said Crouch made false accounts of "bloodshed and trauma" not once but four times.

He said the man took a "very scarce and extremely precious" community resource - being fire, ambulance and police services - on wild goose chases for no reason apart from his own gratification.

The man made four hoax calls to Triple-0 between February 12 and March 21 last year, reporting serious multi-vehicle crashes at different locations in the Warrnambool area.

On one occasion, Crouch reported a three-car collision at the intersection of Aberline Road and Whites Road, Warrnambool, with possible trapped occupants, and oil and debris all over the road.

On another occasion, he reported a collision involving a truck and car at the intersection of Horne Road and Wangoom Road, Warrnambool, with a person trapped, smoke and flames.

As a result of the calls, Victoria Police, County Fire Authority and Ambulance Victoria officers responded as a matter of priority, arriving to find there was no incident.

The court heard Crouch's voice was identified by a police officer in an unrelated vehicle intercept and he was subsequently arrested and charged.

"It perhaps shows how much distress you caused that so many police listened to the tapes in an effort to bring the offender to justice," the magistrate said.

"Why? Because people's lives were put at risk because of your thoughtless behaviour."

Mr Lethbridge said thousands of dollars were wasted at a time when emergency service resources were scarce due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Victoria Legal Aid senior lawyer Natasha Jayasuriya said a psychological report outlined Crouch's significant childhood deprivation and disadvantage, as well as diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum, borderline personality disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.

She said Crouch spent 532 days in custody in 2017 awaiting a trial for an unrelated matter, which ultimately led to a four-month jail sentence.

She said the time spent in custody was "very difficult" for her client.

The court was not told of the charges that led to Crouch's time in custody.

The magistrate said while Crouch was initially looking at another term of imprisonment, the psychological report showed there were serious mental health concerns relevant to sentencing.

He said that was why he wholly suspended the jail sentence.

If Crouch re-offends he will have to serve the entirety of the four-month sentence.

He was also placed on a community correction order for 18 months.

That will include 180 hours of unpaid community work, as well as treatment for mental health.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: