The Coastguard said the latest incident is linked to the same man

Officials appealed for help to find the culprit after a Mayday distress call reporting a crew member with spinal injuries turned out to be false.

The fake call claimed crew of a vessel called the "Queen Victoria" needed help two miles from Barnstaple in Devon.

Swansea coastguard Graham Warlow said it was essential to "stop this idiot".

It is not the first time a caller claiming to be from the vessel had made a Mayday appeal.

"This now appears to be the third time the hoaxer has tried this stupid prank," he said.

"It is essential we stop this idiot. We are taking away resources from their normal locations and if there had been other emergencies at the same time, then we may have had a much more serious situation developing."

Taking [rescuers] away from their jobs and families on fruitless searches for hoaxers is a complete waste of their time and effort Graham Warlow

The latest call was made on Monday at 1705 GMT from the "Queen Victoria".

The hoaxer said the vessel was two nautical miles northeast of Barnstaple Quay in Devon and had two people on board, one with spinal injuries who needed immediate evacuation.

Ships in the area were alerted and a rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor in Devon was scrambled but nothing was found.

The coastguard informed ships the call was a hoax and asked for any information to be given to Swansea coastguard, but so far nothing has emerged.

Mr Warlow said two previous incidents appeared to be linked to the same hoaxer.

"On 31 January at 13.30hrs, a spoken word Mayday call was received from the same 'vessel' reporting that she was sinking," he explained.

"No further communications were received from the vessel. "

On that occasion, three rescue teams from Hartland, Westward Ho and Instow were tasked.

Three rescue teams and the RAF Chivenor helicopter were also called out on 20 January by a Mayday call purporting to be from the "Queen Victoria".

Mr Warlow added: "Coastguard rescue team members are volunteers and taking them away from their jobs and families on fruitless searches for hoaxers is a complete waste of their time and effort.

"Information has been passed to the appropriate authorities for further investigation."

Anyone with information which could help track down the person making the hoax calls is asked to contact Swansea Coastguard on 01792 366534.