Newark man who made 68 calls to 999 found drunk in bed

Nottinghamshire Police's control room was called 68 times by the drunk man

A man who made 68 calls to 999 over a 90-minute period was later found to be drunk in his bed, not needing police assistance.

Nottinghamshire Police said the man consistently rang 999 and hung up on officers when they tried to find out what was wrong.

The force urged the public to only call in an emergency after the Newark man made the calls in September.

Officers said the number was "not there to be called for trivial matters".

The emergency number was also called by an intoxicated Mansfield man who asked for help getting out of a shed.

He told the emergency services "he didn't know where he was" and then asked officers for more beer. He later admitted he did not need police assistance.

Police were also called by a disgruntled motorist after a city centre garage failed to accept his fuel voucher.

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Ch Insp 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.

"We are now approaching one of our busiest times of the year - Christmas - and there is a lot of pressure on our service."