Leicestershire man dials 999 to complain about noisy fridge

One operator was asked if they liked gummy sweets by a child

A man who dialled 999 to complain his fridge was too noisy is among a host of nuisance calls revealed by Leicestershire Police.

Another raised the alarm and said it was too cold to wait for a train, the force said.

Officers revealed examples of the inappropriate calls as part of an appeal for people to only use the number in an emergency.

Control room operators have also picked up the phone to children several times.

The force said it had received more than 187,000 calls throughout 2022 so far.

Another caller complained she had flies in her house during summer while a child asked an operator if they liked gummy sweets.

Supt Steve Durrant said: "Some members of the public do call 999 without knowing they should be calling the non-emergency line 101 instead.

"But we do also receive many calls from people who do not need the police at all and have made the call with blatant misuse and disregard.

"Every minute that our call handlers spend dealing with an inappropriate emergency call means those with real emergencies may experience a delay in getting through, potentially putting lives at risk."