Scary newt and doggie poop among Cambridgeshire police calls

It's a newt - it's not a lizard, police tell a worried caller

Reports of a "lizard" - which turned out to be a newt - invading a house and dog poo on a pavement were among a number of "non-emergencies" reported to a police call-handling centre.

Cambridgeshire Police gave details of every call received during seven hours to its 999 and 101 hub during a "tweetathon" at the end of October.

Officers also reminded people the police were not there to advise on "safe places to park in Peterborough".

It received 204 calls during that time.

It is the fourth year the Cambridgeshire force has taken part in the event on X (formerly Twitter) and was part of a national drive to raise awareness of the work of police call-handling centres.

While many callers were genuinely in need of police assistance or advice - including crashes and missing persons - the service pointed out that a caller from Brampton, Cambridgeshire who spotted what they called a "lizard" was probably not one of them.

Officers told the worried householder it was a newt, and advised them to put it back outside.

They also said calling to report dog faeces on a pavement in Cambridge was not an urgent matter.

Receiving a call from a strange number on a mobile phone or asking whether it was safe to park a car in Peterborough fell into the same category.

The tweetathon was intended to "provide the public with an insight into the volume, variety and complexity of calls and incidents that staff must be equipped to deal with", Cambridgeshire Police said on its website.

Speaking ahead of the event, Det Supt Michael Branston said the team of call handlers, dispatchers and supervisors "work in a very challenging environment".

The force added: "Please remember that 999 should be used in emergencies only. It is considered an emergency if it feels like the situation could get heated/violent very soon, someone is in immediate danger or you need assistance right away."