Trivial 999 emergency calls (part 2)

...or trivial 911 calls, as they're known in the US.

"Yes, I have a bacon related emergency..."

As I've mentioned before on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog, some misguided people seem to regard the 999 emergency helpline as a general helpdesk for any random trivial query.

To highlight this problem, the Metropolitan Police recently published a list of some of the stupidest most time-wasting 999 calls they received during 2015. All of the following were genuine 'emergency' calls as reported by the Metropolitan police...

1) Emergency bacon

A hungry dude rang 999 at 4am on a Saturday morning to ask, "Where's the best place to get a bacon sandwich?"

2) "Help, I'm being arrested!"

One woman rang 999 to report that there were men in her house trying to kidnap her. The men were actually police officers who were there to arrest her.

3) Foxy Insomnia

Insomnia can be annoying, but it's hardly an emergency. However, one lady who apparently disagrees was having trouble sleeping due to noisy foxes outside her house, so she asked the police to get rid of the foxes so she could get a good night's sleep.

4) "What's the number for 111?"

One foolish man needed to call the 111 medical helpline, but he didn't know the number for the 111 helpline, so he was rang 999 to ask what it was! It's a wonder he even knew what the number was for 999!

"Hold that flight!

5) "Quick!  We're going to miss our flight!"

One couple rang 999 to report that they were late for their flight, so they requested a police escort to ensure they got to the airport on time.

6) Money problems

One unfortunate man got his 50 pence coin stuck in the washing machine at the launderette, so he rang 999 to ask the police to retrieve the 50p from the machine.

7) Kebab complaints

When visiting a takeaway it would be frustrating to be given cold food, but most people wouldn't consider it an emergency. However, one woman actually rang 999 to complain that her local takeaway had given her a cold kebab and they were refusing to replace it.

8) Petrol problems

One driver called 999 to report that he was running out of petrol when his low fuel light came on.

"Police! Arrest that clown!"

9) Greedy clowns

One woman rang 999 to complain that a local clown was charging too much for balloons. Apparently, the clown was charging £5 per balloon which was more than other clowns were charging.

10) Car kidnapping

One driver had no loose change for the parking machine, so he rang 999 and claimed he was being kidnapped when the car park attendants refused to let him out of the car park without paying.

Actually, if it was a private car park then the driver may have had a case, and according to MoneySavingExpert many private car parks are 'frankly cowboys'. However, the situation was obviously far from being a 999 emergency.

You can find more 999 'emergency' calls in my previous post:
Trivial 999 emergency calls (part 1)