Woman who called 999 over 2,000 times in three years has been jailed

Sonia Nixon, 56, used 17 different mobile numbers to dial the call centre between 2021 and 2023

A woman who called 999 over 2,000 times in three years, and racially abused emergency workers, has been jailed.

Sonia Nixon, 56, from Harrow, called the emergency line 1,194 times last year alone, putting her within the top three repeat callers across the Met in 2023.

She used 17 different mobile numbers to dial the call centre between 2021 and 2023, making her the fifth worst caller in that time.

Nixon was arrested on Wednesday, January 10 for 668 breaches of the Communications Act 2003, and charged for 670 offences.

After being arrested, she racially abused a police officer and was further arrested for racially aggravated public order before urinating in the caged van and being arrested for criminal damage.

Last month, Nixon was convicted for the calls made to the emergency line, plus four racially aggravated public order offences against emergency workers. She has been sentenced to 22 weeks in prison.

Police estimate Nixon cost the force approximately £4,500 within a five-month window, due to her abuse of the 999 system, which had a significant impact on how quickly operators could respond to genuine emergencies.

She was also granted a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order, including conditions of contacting 999 only in an emergency, as well as alerting workers to any new calls from Nixon.

Over 25% of calls made to emergency services do not have a policing purpose, with abusive callers costing the Met over £2m, as well as preventing genuine emergencies from being answered.