A 48-year-old orchard worker has been ordered to perform 75 hours of community service for wasting the police's time by making an emergency call to report that he was being raped by a wombat.
Arthur Ross Cradock then called police a second time and stated, "I'll retract the rape complaint from the wombat, because he's pulled out."
Cradock added that he was unhurt by the alleged incident, apart from the fact that he had begun speaking in Australian.
Judge Richard Russell, who imposed the sentence for misuse of emergency services, said he was uncertain what motivated Cradock to make those statements. However, prosecutor Chris Stringer told the court that "alcohol had played a big part in Cradock's life."
