"don't call 999 unless it's an emergency" advice falls on deaf ears

[splodgeyAl 10]

Number 6 - A call from a man ringing for advice after his wife mistakenly got on the wrong bus while out shopping and ended up in Romford.

 

you've obviously never been to romford, then

[Rich 12]

To add to the stupid reasons people dial 999:

 

Number 10 - Callers who rang 999 asking for the number of Crimestoppers so they can report minor crimes.

 

Number 9 - A woman who dialled police because she was walking home alone after a night out and fancied a chat.

 

Number 8 - A caller who rang to say 'I can't get a taxi home and I've got no credit. Can you phone one for me or give me a lift?'

 

Number 7 - A woman who said she had no money and wanted police to give her a lift home.

 

Number 6 - A call from a man ringing for advice after his wife mistakenly got on the wrong bus while out shopping and ended up in Romford.

 

Number 5 - A person who dialled 999 to ask what time a fireworks display was taking place

 

Number 4 - Animals lovers who called to report a parrot stuck up a tree and a hamster trapped behind a wardrobe.

 

Number 3 - A person who rang 999 to ask what the weather would be like the next day because they wanted to have a picnic.

 

Number 2 - An exasperated mum who called the police because her son refused to get out of bed.

 

Number 1 - A terrified woman who called emergency crews asking them to come to her home and put out a spider which was scaring her.

 

And a few that didn't make the list:

 

A woman calling 999 to ask how long she should cook her turkey - she was worried about poisoning her family.

 

An angry supermarket shopper who had got fed up of waiting for a taxi so he phoned 999.

 

A caller phoned 999 to ask what the date was.

 

Hard to believe anybody could be THAT stupid, but apparently some are!

 

My Bold.

 

Any idiot knows the Bizzies won't do anything till a person's been missing 24 hours.

[Whatif wewin 10]

If these people are genuinely stupid what can you do about it?

 

If they are adults with low intelligence there seems to be little that we can do to educate them, because if they don't know yet what can you do to inform them?

[Ouija 10]

 

There are elderly people who endure hour upon hour of crushing chest pain or shortness of breath, but will not phone 999 because "we didn't want to trouble you during the night" or "we've seen your adverts - we didn't want to waste your time".

 

 

That's bad. I didn't know that. These days I tend to use the NHS Direct line and ask their advice. If they say ring an ambulance I'd know it was okay. Thankfully it's never been that bad. Perhaps older people should be made more aware of that service then they wouldn't feel bad about making the call.

[chem1st 10]

We have a load of idiots in SY making similar calls.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/8132401.stm

[Lisa33 10]

I cannot believe that people are so stupid. Honestly if these people had half a brain cell it would die of loneliness.

[Treatment 10]

Perhaps if the BBC spent more time publicising matters like this, rather than how big a Rodgering that one would get if one did not have a TV licence that might help.

 

That would be too simple of course, and we can't have that type of thing.

[Ghostrider 11]

My Bold.

 

Any idiot knows the Bizzies won't do anything till a person's been missing 24 hours.

Not true, my ex wife vanished on the way to the corner shop - within 4 hours the cops were onto it (she didnt arrive at work & she left my daughter at school on her own)

 

They found her 24 hours later in a hotel after suffering a breakdown, at which point they had her sectioned...

 

Cant praise them enough for the way they handled it...

[Davekowl 10]

If I see two kids nicking lead off a roof , it can hardly be called an emergency can it ? I know that there is a call center number for S.Y Police but wouldn't it be a good idea to let people know more readily what it is or bring in a new number ( say 131 ) for non emergency calls?

[charlie9865 10]

i didnt even ring 999 when my lung collapsed,was at my best friends. And we just eaten tea ,i was washing pots for me mate when a pain ripped through my right side of my chest and shoulder and down my arm. I couldnt breath for pain and was taking small breaths to try and get air. I phoned my husband to collect me came home and took painkillers and went bed. Got up next morning and rang me mate to say i would catch bus to her's to visit and she said i sounded breathless i said i would be fine and would be an hour. But i collapsed coughing and being sick so hubby took me hospital my lung had collapsed. And they told me i should of phoned 999 when it happened but i felt it may be nothing even though i was in severe pain.Hate time waisters that ring 999 it could cost someones life. x

[Plain Talker 11]

If I see two kids nicking lead off a roof , it can hardly be called an emergency can it ? I know that there is a call center number for S.Y Police but wouldn't it be a good idea to let people know more readily what it is or bring in a new number ( say 131 ) for non emergency calls?

 

Do you mean like the 101 line that we have, here in Sheffield?

[TheTwirler 10]

Has anyone ever tried to call the 101 line? I called it a few Sundays ago as some local scrotes were taking delight in putting an elderly neighbours windows through, and although they put Linford Christie to shame with their 100 metre dash when me and my dad went out to have a chat with them about their behaviour, we had a really good description and even one of them's name. I was on hold for well over 10 minutes, at which point I put the phone down.

 

The police came around an hour later, as someone had called 999 (probably the elderly bloke, we never see him so can't be sure) and they were more than happy to investigate.

Edited July 17, 2009 by TheTwirler
typo.