Christine Oldham repeatedly called 999 pretending she had either slashed her wrists, taken an overdose, or was about to jump under a train, Hove Crown Court heard.

The defendant, who was named Christopher Methold on the court list but asked to be referred to as Christine Oldham, also inundated the NHS Direct phone line with calls.

Oldham, of Tisbury Road, Hove, called NHS Direct 242 times, wasting 234 hours of the service's time listing fake ailments,

Rat poison

In four months she visited the Royal Sussex County Hospital on 26 occasions, sometimes claiming she had eaten rat poison.

A Sussex Police chief inspector received a barrage of answer phone messages left by Oldham on her mobile phone.

Miss Oldham, who suffers from a personality disorder, admitted making the nuisance calls over seven months from October 2002 to May 2003.

Judge David Rennie passed down a three-year suspended sentence and a three-year anti-social behaviour order.

The ASBO prohibits Oldham from contacting the emergency services unless there is a genuine reason.

Judge Rennie told her the "attention seeking" calls had diverted staff from dealing with "genuine, needy" people.