Plea over 999 calls after ice cube theft reported

A woman in Bideford called 999 to report a peacock in the road which she said "looked sad as he had lost his friends”

Devon and Cornwall Police have reminded the public to call 999 only in emergencies after receiving hundreds of inappropriate calls each day.

Officers said they receive on average more than 330 inappropriate 999 calls each day and this increases during the summer holidays.

One woman called 999 to complain she could not get out of her jumpsuit while another called to report "the theft of ice cubes from her drink", they said.

On average call handlers receive 859 emergency calls and 1,195 non-emergency ones each day, the police added.

'Don't hang up'

Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Leaper said accidental or inappropriate calls tied up staff and prevented them dealing with real emergencies.

She said: "The force understands that some calls are made accidentally and the quickest way for us to deal with them is for the caller to stay on the line so we can confirm that they don't need any help.

"If it happens to you please don’t hang up – stay on the line and explain what’s happened. We will understand."

Other examples of inappropriate calls the dispatchers have received include one from a woman wild camping on Dartmoor.

Police said she called 999 after seeing horses around her tent and told the call handler she was scared and "worried the horses were angry at her".

• LISTEN: A number of the inappropriate calls were recorded by Devon and Cornwall Police

Every call made to 999 is investigated, even when someone had hung up, the force said.

It said calling by accident is not the only reason people hang up as someone might be scared, unable to talk or forced to put the phone down, so officers have to investigate to find out what has happened.

The force said it can take up to 20 minutes to confirm the person was alright each time a call was ended early.

It also said it received many calls that should be directed to other agencies such as the local council and DVLA and details of such organisations can be found on the Devon and Cornwall Police website.