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| Exhall child death hoax caller pretended to be a doctor | Exhall child death hoax caller pretended to be a doctor |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A man has admitted making hoax phone calls to eight families telling them their child had died. | |
| Ashley Dodd, 28, rang his victims claiming to be a doctor at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, Leamington Magistrates' Court heard. | Ashley Dodd, 28, rang his victims claiming to be a doctor at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton, Leamington Magistrates' Court heard. |
| Dodd, of Hayes Lane, Exhall, Warwickshire picked his victims at random after he had been binge-drinking on 6 and 7 June, the court was told. | Dodd, of Hayes Lane, Exhall, Warwickshire picked his victims at random after he had been binge-drinking on 6 and 7 June, the court was told. |
| He admitted eight offences under the Malicious Communications Act. | He admitted eight offences under the Malicious Communications Act. |
| Dodd was granted unconditional bail and is due be sentenced on 23 September. | |
| He told the court he was "messing around" while drinking, but the court heard his actions caused families "shock and devastation". | He told the court he was "messing around" while drinking, but the court heard his actions caused families "shock and devastation". |
| Some families took several hours to trace their children to discover they were well, the court heard. | Some families took several hours to trace their children to discover they were well, the court heard. |
| Speaking after the hearing, Dodd apologised to the families involved. | |
| The court heard he had suffered previous problems with alcoholism and had been drinking a combination of beer and spirits on 6 June. | |
| Dodd said he had planned to make a series of nuisance calls before deciding to go further. | |
| He said he phoned families, posing as the fictitious Dr Peter Stevens, informing them that their child had died. |