Gateshead man accused of breaching Criminal Behaviour Order by repeatedly calling 999
A man has appeared in court accused of breaching his Criminal Behaviour Order by repeatedly dialling 999 and making bogus claims of an emergency. Michael Banks was made subject of the order in September 2025 and it will remain in place for his life time.The order has one condition, which Banks musty abide by, and that is he must not call 999 or 101 unless there is a genuine emergency where there is a threat to life, serious risk of harm or an ongoing crime. The 37-year-old has now appeared in the dock accused of breaching that order by dialling 999 eight times on June 7 when there was absolutely no need.Banks, of Ullswater Crescent, in Winlaton, Gateshead, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address during a hearing at Newcastle Magistrates' Court and to enter a not guilty plea to breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO). Chike Anieto, prosecuting, said Banks allegedly called 999 eight times when no emergency was taking place.Mr Anieto added: "It's the Crown's position that you can have jurisdiction in this matter. My invitation would be for you to accept it and list the case for trial in these courts."Magistrates agreed that the case could be tried before them but Banks elected for his case to go to the crown court. Banks was released on unconditional bail to next appear at Newcastle Crown Court on July 8.Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here's more information about what this means and how to do it - you can also do it straight away by clicking here.We have a dedicated newsletter for court news and crime updates. It’s free and you can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest court cases and sentence updates from around the North East.
