A HOAX caller was caught red-handed by firefighters after his phone led them to the pub where he was drinking.

Fire crews traced the 20-year-old to a pub after he rang 999 to say the premises were on fire.

Firefighters from Bolton Central were called to the Church Hotel, Crook Street, Bolton, at 2.15am on Sunday morning morning but realised the caller was a hoax.

Control room staff passed on the number of the phone used to make the emergency call to firefighters at the scene Firefighters rang the phone and quickly found the culprit.

Fire chiefs today condemned the actions of the hoaxer.

"This is a very wasteful drain on our resources and left Bolton town centre without cover for nearly an hour while we dealt with this incident," said Sub-Officer Dave Fraser-Jones. "This could have diverted us from a genuinely serious incident.

"We will help the police in every way we can to secure convictions against anyone who makes calls which result in fire crews being called out unnecessarily."

Greater Manchester Fire Service receives more than 7,000 hoax calls every year. Malicious callers run the risk of court action and a possible £2,500 fine.