THE police have urged people to only use the 999 number for essential calls, after someone called to ask what time a supermarket opened, asked for help to get a snake out of their house and for officers to bring petrol to their home.
The West Yorkshire Police Contact Management Centre often tweet some of the more unusual phone calls they receive from the general public.
And this tweet this morning was no exception after a call to police from someone asking when a branch of Asda would be open.
Just had a 999 call asking what time @asda is opening....... this genuinely happened. #Not999
— WYP Contact Management Centre (@WYP_Contact) March 24, 2020
In response, Warwickshire Police's Operations and Communications Centre (OCC) tweeted: "Is it bad that we're not even shocked?"
The West Yorkshire phone line have also received the following two time wasting calls, which they tweeted last night and this morning:
What a way to end our shift. 999 call asking for us to get a snake out of their house..... #Team5 out. Good night! #Not999
— WYP Contact Management Centre (@WYP_Contact) March 24, 2020
We will not bring you some petrol to your house. #Not999
— WYP Contact Management Centre (@WYP_Contact) March 23, 2020
These follow three different occasions earlier this year when people have wrongly used the service for more unusual calls.
Someone used the service to complain about Royal Mail not delivering their parcel after they had initially given them the wrong postcode.
An angry caller rang the emergency line to ask the service to ring their doctors as they were fed up of waiting 30 minutes to try to get through.
A caller also rang the number complaining they could not get chicken nuggets from a branch of McDonald’s.
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