A GLASGOW man is alleged to have plagued emergency services by making more than 30 hoax phone calls in two weeks.

For a fortnight, the 30-year-old is said to have used mobile phones and pay phones during the campaign of nuisance calls.

Firefighters in the city centre had to cope with 31 calls between June 27 and July 4.

He is also accused of setting fire to industrial bins in Springfield Court, near Queen Street, on two occasions.

It is estimated that each false alarm costs about £2000, making a total of almost £65,000.

Senior police officers and fire chiefs warned hoax calls “could put lives at risk”.

The two wilful fires were started on June 27 and July 2.

Chief Inspector Mark Sutherland, area commander for Glasgow city centre, said: “Making hoax calls to the emergency services is a selfish and dangerous act.

“The fire appliances and police vehicles sent to answer these calls could have been needed elsewhere.

“There is also a financial implication, with a cost to all the emergency service and partner agencies.

“Following a joint operation between Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue, a 30-year-old male was arrested for alleged wilful fire-raising and offences under the Fire Scotland Act 2005.”

The man is due to appear in court at a later date.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Anyone who deliberately starts fires risks not only their own life but also the lives of others.

And that’s something none of us should ever tolerate.

“We work closely with our colleagues in the police to establish the circumstance surrounding fires and help them see the people responsible for starting them are held to account for their dangerous actions.

“Someone who starts a fire has no idea what will happen.

“It’s out of control from the instant it begins and they don’t know if it will spread, how the smoke will travel or who will be affected.

“Even if a fire stays small the fact our crews have to respond to put it out means they will be unavailable if a real emergency happens elsewhere.

“The time taken for a different crew to reach an incident, where someone is trapped as a result of a house fire or after a collision on the roads really could cost their life.”

Authorities could not reveal if the fire service responded to every call.

Earlier this year, we told how police arrested a 27-year-old man after 13 fake emergency calls were made to the fire and rescue service in a single day.

Fire crews were called out to locations across Glasgow city centre in January.

And in 2006, a man was arrested after making 23 hoax emergency calls to the fire and rescue service.

The 28-year-old from Glasgow later admitted a breach of the peace.