Man jailed after ferry disaster hoax

Press, 7 April 1987, Page 5

Man jailed after ferry disaster hoax

By ROBIN CHARTERIS in London A man who falsely claimed that his wife and two daughters were lost in the Zeebrugge ferry disaster was jailed for four months at Dover Crown Court. Belgian-born Lawrence Wouters, aged 36, admitted wasting police time. He said he was drunk when he telephoned the police the day after the English Channel ferry capsized. Although he did not have a family, he told the police that his wife and daughters had been on holiday in Belgium and that his wife had telephoned him on the day of the disaster, saying that they were boarding the Herald of Free Enterprise

to come home. The Magistrates heard that Wouters’ detailed description of the imaginary family was so convincing that the policewoman who took the call became extremely distressed. In a second call he told the same story, using a different surname but giving his correct address in Hounslow. At the time the police were dealing with hundreds of calls from relatives of the passengers. Wouters, a Harley Street technician, was said to have drunk 12 pints of beer before making the telephone calls. His lawyer said he was extremely sorry for his “dreadful” act. “It would not have happened if he had been sober.”