(1) A DOG owner dialled 999 to report someone - for FARTING on their pet pooch.
The crackpot emergency call was among a host of daft requests received by Scots police forces.
Other time-wasting pleas for cop assistance revealed yesterday included:
(2) A REQUEST that officers attend a home to deal with a swarm of bees.
(3) DRIVER who used his mobile phone behind the wheel to report that traffic lights had been stuck on red for five minutes.
(4) ANOTHER pet owner who wanted police to track down and retrieve a budgie after it had flown out of a window.
Police also had to deal with a young man who was outraged that a shopkeeper was selling multipack cans of cola as single items and demanded officers investigate at once.
(4) And another caller even admitted she was reporting a minor incident - but insisted she had no option but to dial 999 because she had no credit on her mobile phone.
The calls were logged by 999 centres in Lothian and Borders and in Fife. Both forces said they are determined to crack down on time-wasters and could prosecute repeat offenders.
A Fife Constabulary spokesman said they were now immediately cutting off the 999 pests and calling them back later to dish out a warning.
He said: "The misuse of calls often starts with an apology - 'I am sorry to bother you but PC so-and-so was dealing with a crime I reported and I have no phone credit'.
"Each call is judged on a case-by-case basis but there is the potential that people who continue to misuse 999 could be reported to the procurator fiscal."
The crackpot emergency call was among a host of daft requests received by Scots police forces.
Other time-wasting pleas for cop assistance revealed yesterday included:
(2) A REQUEST that officers attend a home to deal with a swarm of bees.
(3) DRIVER who used his mobile phone behind the wheel to report that traffic lights had been stuck on red for five minutes.
(4) ANOTHER pet owner who wanted police to track down and retrieve a budgie after it had flown out of a window.
Police also had to deal with a young man who was outraged that a shopkeeper was selling multipack cans of cola as single items and demanded officers investigate at once.
(4) And another caller even admitted she was reporting a minor incident - but insisted she had no option but to dial 999 because she had no credit on her mobile phone.
The calls were logged by 999 centres in Lothian and Borders and in Fife. Both forces said they are determined to crack down on time-wasters and could prosecute repeat offenders.
A Fife Constabulary spokesman said they were now immediately cutting off the 999 pests and calling them back later to dish out a warning.
He said: "The misuse of calls often starts with an apology - 'I am sorry to bother you but PC so-and-so was dealing with a crime I reported and I have no phone credit'.
"Each call is judged on a case-by-case basis but there is the potential that people who continue to misuse 999 could be reported to the procurator fiscal."
Comment