A hoax caller who told 999 operators at Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s headquarters he was trapped in his blazing home with his heavily pregnant wife has been slammed by both the service and the police.

The man, who is believed to live in the Medway Towns, dialled 999 in the early hours of Monday morning.

He convinced the control room operators he was trapped in his bedroom with his wife at their home in Station Road, Rainham, and said they needed to be rescued urgently.

Operators who are trained to filter out hoax callers believed the man was genuine, as he went to extraordinary lengths to convince them, even coughing and spluttering and making sounds as if he was gasping for air.

A crew from Medway Fire Station was sent to Station Road at 1.30am to tackle the blaze and rescue the pair.

But when they arrived at the address there was no sign of any fire.

The crew knocked on the door of the home and a “rather bemused” woman who answered the door who knew nothing about the fire or the call.

The hoax call is now being investigated by Medway Police.

Stuart Skilton, head of community safety at Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: “People may think it making hoax calls is harmless fun but it is certainly not.

“Hoax calls waste firefighters’ time and represent a huge drain on resources.

“They have the potential divert attendance from genuine incidents where people’s lives may be at risk. The 999 number should only be used in an emergency, where there is an immediate threat to life or property.

“People who make hoax calls are committing a crime.

“Our control operators do challenge callers who they believe are making hoax calls and those who make hoax calls from a mobile phone for the first time will be sent a text message warning of disconnection. If that mobile is used again to make a hoax call, Control staff will request disconnection by the service provider. If someone persists to make hoax calls they can face a £5,000 fine, six months in prison, or both.”

Insp Simon Alland, of Medway Police said: “Every non-emergency call received via 999 hinders our ability to deal with genuine emergencies and endangers the public. The number of emergency calls and false or inappropriate 999’s create a growing problem. We appeal to the public to use the 999 system responsibly.”