Being rejected by a partner can be a bit sad, but we can probably all agree that calling the police about it is rather dramatic.
So you can imagine how surprised a 999 call handler in Lincolnshire was when she answered the phone to a woman upset about not receiving a smooch.
Yes, that really happened - and the local police force have highlighted it as they urged people to stop making time-wasting calls.
Last Christmas between 20 December 20 and 2 January, they typically received 26 calls to 999 each day. They said others called them to ask for train times, a number for a dentist or to tell responders that someone had no water.
In a statement, it begged people to only call the police for good reason. They said: “None of these things are even a policing matter, let alone genuine emergencies.
“We’re asking people to understand when to call 999 and when it’s #NOT999. A genuine emergency is where life or property are in immediate danger. Otherwise, if it’s a policing matter, call us on 101.”
It added hoax calls waste money and time which could be spent on genuine emergencies but did say some calls “may be driven by mental health reasons”.
Mike Modder-Fitch, who works for G4S at the head of the force control room, added: “When it’s a hoax call or simply not a policing matter we have to terminate the call to free the lines.
“If you’re on a night out and one of your drunk mates think it’s ok to call the 999 line, my ask is that you stop them from wasting our and their time.
“It could really make a difference to a genuine call. We can’t help with food orders, taxis or the number for dentists.’
He continued: “We will be there if you need us but we’d much rather spend Christmas with nobody to speak to. There are many reasons why someone would need to call the 999 line, where someone is injured, where a crime is happening right there and then and someone or something is in immediate danger.
“If we feel it’s not a genuine emergency, but still a policing matter, we will put you through to a colleague who can still help so that it will not tie up the 999 lines.”
Sounds fair enough to us.
