A MAN has been arrested and charged with allegedly making a hoax call which sparked a major early-morning rescue operation in Greenock.

The 38-year-old is due to appear at Greenock Sheriff Court later today accused of obstructing the emergency services.

It's alleged he claimed that someone was in trouble in the water at Custom House Quay shortly after 12.30am this morning.

A rescue helicopter, the police, the fire service, coastguard and an ambulance were all summoned to the River Clyde next to the Beacon Arts Centre.

Liam Colquhoun, watch manager at HM Coastguard in Belfast, has warned of the dangers of hoax calls.

He said: "If an incident happened somewhere else then they are tied up and someone could die.

"It's wasting resources that could be used better elsewhere."