A man struck terror into fellow residents of a three-storey block of flats by calling 999 and falsely claiming there was a fire there in the middle of the night.
Bobby Aitken, 43, said he was "trapped in the building" by the blaze.
Two fire engines, a fire responder vehicle, an ambulance and a police car rushed to the scene, at 27 Marshall Street, in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, shortly before 1.00 am.
The building was checked, and there was no fire.
Sean Iles, prosecuting, said: "Due to the level of the emergency service response, the occupants of the building had to be assured by the police there was no fire.
"They were all shaking and confused by the situation - upset having been woken in their homes in the building, which is a multi-storey block of flats."
At this point, Aitken was spotted, making his way downstairs, "stupidly drunk".
Mr Iles said: "He identified himself as the person who had called the emergency services. He was intoxicated and couldn't provide any reason why he'd done so."
Aitken was arrested at 1.30 am and said: "I'm sorry about that. I made a drunken mistake. I was stupidly drunk. I've not really got anything else to say."
The incident occurred on Febuary 3rd last year (2021).
Aitken, who still lives in Grangemouth, but now at a different address in the town, pleaded guilty to making a false alarm call, contrary to the 2005 Fire (Scotland) Act.
Solicitor-advocate Stephen Biggam, defending, said: "He has moved on."
Sheriff Derek Livingston said Aitken had caused distress to his neighbours and "a complete waste" of resources.
He sentenced him to 200 hours unpaid work, adding, "I would have been well justified in imposing custody."
