A former Pittenweem resident fears lives are being put at risk – as he is receiving calls from people trying to contact the Fife fishing harbour nearly 400 miles away in Brighton.
Ron McDonald says he receives numerous calls each day from people trying to contact Pittenweem harbour master.
His number is still appearing on Google under ‘Pittenweem Harbour’ as his holiday rental business was listed on the search engine under the same name about 20 years ago.
Man receives Pittenweem calls in Brighton
He says the problem has got worse since he sold the business and relocated to England’s south coast last August – and claims attempts to have the number removed have proven fruitless.
The 68-year-old fears it could put lives at risk in urgent or emergency situations as calls may not reach the harbour master.
The problem came to light again during an incident last week, when lifeboat crews were called to reports of a person overboard from a vessel close to Pittenweem Harbour.
Ron said: “I took several calls regarding the emergency, which were from people wanting to speak to directly to the harbour master.
“It’s a ludicrous situation with me sat in Brighton on the south coast of England taking calls regarding tide times to broken boat engines and every other harbour matter you could think of.
“But it’s the crucial minutes potentially wasted in emergency situations that could result in lives being put at risk and that’s a huge worry.”
Ron says his Google business listing was changed from ‘self-catering accommodation’ to ‘port authority’ in the last year, but the number remains the same.
Correspondence sent to Ron by Google, seen by The Courier, suggests a number of solutions including closing the listing or changing the business category.
But Ron claims that would result in a the harbour incorrectly being listed as ‘closed’ and the contact number still being visible to anyone who searches.
He added: “I never would have imagined there would be such difficulty in removing a number but it seems impossible to do so.”
The harbour comes under the jurisdiction of Fife Council, which says it is aware of the issue – but the responsibility lies with Ron and Google to have the matter resolved.
It also says the correct contact details can be found on the Fife Council website.
Google has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Conversation