A woman called 999 to tell police she’d paid the wrong amount for a bottle of fruit squash in Morrisons.
‘It was two for £1.20, or two for £1.50, and he’s only given me one fruit and barley,’ she tells the call handler.
‘I’m trying to reach Morrisons and I can’t get through – they keep hanging up.’
They operator responds: ‘This is not a police matter and it’s certainly not a 999 emergency. This is a mistake on behalf of the shop.
‘Just go and speak to customer service about it.’
Northumbria Police is now reminding people to only use the number in emergencies.
Chief Superintendent Supt Neil Hutchison said: ‘Calls like these might seem harmless and even funny, but they create a huge demand on the staff working in the communications centre who could otherwise be busy dealing with genuine emergencies.
‘Hundreds of calls come into our communications centres every day and we want to be able to deliver an outstanding service to everyone who gets in touch.
‘We hope that the public can work with us so that we can make sure those people unfortunate enough to be involved in serious incidents can receive police assistance as quickly as possible.’
Chief Supt Hutchison added: ‘We would also ask you to consider visiting our website where we have details of other agencies who may be more appropriate to help deal with your query.
‘You will also find an online reporting form where you can submit a crime report without having to call us.’
