An Aberdeen man dealt with more than a dozen calls from the media over the festive period after a police blunder. (Shutterstock picture does not show the man, who has not been identified)
According to the Scottish Daily Mail, Police Scotland mistakenly diverted press calls through to the mobile phone number of a member of the public.
The calls started on Christmas Eve, when he received three calls from a newspaper, and the man was woken up by a call at 6am yesterday, 28 December. The issue has now been dealt with after the force was informed.
The "bemused" man, who has not been named, claimed to have received around 16 calls in total.
"The first time it happened, it was really strange," he told the Mail.
"I had a couple of calls from one newspaper and had to say, 'Look, I don't know what you're going on about'.
"They said, 'What, you're not the coppers?'
"Fortunately it's just been media calls. Nothing major or anything, no one wanting to report a crime. I didn't go to the police about it as I thought eventually they would just stop."
Police Scotland told the Mail that when its Inverness media office is closed calls are diverted to a mobile phone that can service journalists.
The force said: "On this occasion, unfortunately it appears that the phone line was diverted to an incorrect number and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused."
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
