Ian Parry (47) admitted making calls to victims across East Lancashire and Manchester after being arrested in a public phone box in August, 2007.

He was charged with 10 counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the calls and admitted eight charges at Burnley Crown Court in August. Two further charges were ordered to lie on the file.

In September, 2006, Burnley police received a report from a woman in Rawtenstall saying she had been contacted by a man who engaged her in conversation before threatening to rape her.

After this first report, police in Lancashire and Greater Manchester received 105 similar complaints from victims subjected to threatening, humiliating and obscene phone calls.

Det. Sgt Steve Holgate, of Nelson CID, said: "We welcome the substantial custodial sentence given to Ian Parry, which reflects the very serious nature of his crimes.

"During this investigation, it has become clear Parry gains sexual gratification from humiliating, threatening and dominating his victims on the phone. He subjects them to a barrage of obscene threats and is indiscriminate in targeting people, whether they are children, adults or elderly people.

"The effect these phone calls have had on their victims can only be described as horrific. Parry has apparently revelled in humiliating and terrifying numerous innocent members of the public. His offending behaviour will have impacted upon countless victims across East Lancashire and North Manchester, many of whom are not known to the police.

"We would like to praise the courage of those members of the public who have assisted during this investigation. We would like to reassure people Lancashire Constabulary will continue to work closely with BT and other service providers to ensure incidents of this nature are investigated with the utmost rigour.

"We would hope this sentence will assist any victims known or unknown to draw a line under these events and provide some comfort for the ordeal they have been put through."

A spokesman for BT said: "In terms of the number of calls made, the number of victims, number of repeat calls to victims and the severe, obscene and threatening nature of the content of the calls, this is certainly one of the worst cases of its kind BT has ever been involved in - certainly the worst case ever in the North of England.

"The support given to the police investigation team by BT's Nuisance Calls Bureau and BT Security, using their combined expertise and the latest tracing and surveillance technologies, proved vital in helping the police apprehend the suspect and bring the case to court.

"This case should serve as a warning no one can get away with this kind of abhorrent behaviour."

Parry's most common technique was to tell his victim they would win money if they played along with his demands and if this did not work, he would threaten them.

Inquiries conducted to identify the offender established the man involved was calling from telephone kiosks with the calls predominantly made from boxes in the Rossendale Valley. Telephone calls were also made from Burnley and North Manchester.

On August 28th, 2007, after a joint operation involving staff from Lancashire Police and BT, Parry was arrested on suspicion of committing the offences. He was detained in a public phone box in Rochdale while making an obscene call.

Parry, of Pennine Road, Bacup, subsequently admitted making the calls for several months.

Since Parry was charged and remanded, Lancashire police have received no new complaints relating to offences of a similar nature to those he was charged with. This contrasts dramatically to the weeks leading up to his arrest, where the police were receiving numerous complaints every week relating to threatening and sexually explicit phone calls.
It has been estimated only seven to 20% of sexually provocative calls are reported to the police.

Police say anyone who receives a nuisance call should not suffer in silence - help is at hand. They should contact BT's Nuisance Calls Bureau (0800 661 441) or the police.