POLICE Scotland was "bombarded" with calls by a man for more than nine hours while dealing with the Clutha tragedy aftermath.

Benjamin Dakin, 20, of Burton-upon-Trent, made persistent calls to police in the days after a force helicopter crash which killed 10 people in Glasgow.

The disaster, which saw the helicopter come down on a packed bar in November last year, required a mass police presence and an exhausting investigation.

Dakin made a dozen calls asking to be arrested for various invented crimes.

Magistrates in Burton-upon-Trent heard Dakin, who suffers with autism and Asperger's syndrome, also made dozens of calls to forces in London and Wales.

Emma Thompson, prosecuting, said: "He made numerous calls to police in London and Dyfed, asking to be arrested. He then called police in Scotland. Calls started at 4am and continued until 1pm. During that time there were in excess of 12 calls. It was particularly concerning and caused inconvenience. Only a few days earlier they had the incident when the helicopter crashed into the pub in Scotland. This was a major incident and this was the last thing they needed during a particularly difficult time up there."

Dakin's solicitor Neil O'Driscoll stressed his client's mental health struggles played a major part in the offences. He pleaded guilty to three charges of persistently causing annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety. He was handed a 12-month community order, issued with an ASBO and warned any repeat of this type of offence could land him in jail.