Nottinghamshire Police has issued a reminder to only call 999 in an emergency after a Newark man called 68 times within 90 minutes. Officers eventually attended the man's address and found him in bed, drunk, and requiring no assistance from police.
He had been consistently ringing Nottingham Police's control room in September, at one point even hanging up on officers when they were trying to found out what was wrong. Police are now issuing a plea for people to be responsible for 999 following a spate of recent incidents.
Other nuisance calls have included an intoxicated Mansfield resident who called 999 to ask for help in getting out of his own shed. He told the emergency services "he didn't know where he was" and then asked officers for more beer, but later said he did not need the police.
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A disgruntled motorist also called 999 after a Nottingham garage failed to accept his fuel voucher. Chief Inspector Christopher Sullivan said: "These are just a few examples of the number of hoax or inappropriate calls we have recently received.
"These calls take away valuable time from our officers who need to attend real-life emergencies or crimes that affect our residents, some of which will be life-threatening or life-altering. The 999 number is not there to be called for trivial matters.
“Calling the 999 number 68 times over a 90-minute period when drunk is unacceptable. Officers attended the address and found the man in bed. This is a complete waste of our resources.
“We are now approaching one of our busiest times of the year – Christmas – and there is a lot of pressure on our service. We are reminding people that they should always call 999 if a crime is in progress or an immediate risk to life and safety."
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