A missing phone and someone asking for a lift… Police in north Wales release audio of time wasting 999 calls

A missing phone and someone calling 999 to ask for a lift are some of the time wasting calls that have been made to the emergency services.

North Wales Police has released audio footage of two calls made to the force as part of International Control Room Week – a campaign which highlights the work of control room workers.

In one call to 999 a man be heard asking for a lift home from hospital, claiming that he was “going to kick off” after being there for “24 hours with a broken foot”.

He claims that he is unable to get home and that his “missus was supposed to turn up hours ago” and asks the police for a lift home.

The call handler can be heard telling the man that the police “are not a taxi service” and that he shouldn’t have called 999.

In a statement a spokesperson for North Wales Police said: “”Unfortunately calls like this are a frequent occurrence in our Control Room.

“Despite common belief, the Police are not a taxi service and needing a lift home is not a reasonable excuse to dial 999.

“This call lasted for 56 seconds, those seconds could mean the difference between life or death for someone in a genuine emergency.

“Calls like these delay our operators from answering those calls and dispatching an officer where they’re really needed.”

In a second video a teenager can be heard asking the 999 call handler to track his lost phone.

The call handler can be heard telling the youngster that it is a “criminal offence to abuse the 999 emergency system.”

He also advises the teenager to “retrace his steps” and that tracing a mobile phone can only be done in “very, very serious circumstances.”

A police spokesperson said: “Losing a mobile phone is not a life-or-death emergency. We’d like to encourage parents to talk with their children or teenagers about how and when to appropriately contact the Police.

“We understand many young people are attached to their phones and may see losing it as an emergency, this is not the case.”