Peterborough woman called 999 to report unemptied bins - as hoax caller makes 100 calls in one night

Police have released a recording of a Peterborough woman who called 999 to report the fact her bin had not been emptied for two weeks – as one hoax caller made 100 calls to the emergency number in one night.

Cambridgeshire police have released the call – as well as a number of others, including a Peterborough man who called to cancel his bus pass – as part of their ‘#notfor999’ campaign, to cut the number of calls wrongly made to 999.

Caller made more than 100 hoax calls in one night

Police said that on Saturday evening, staff had to temporarily be moved from the web chat service to deal with the high demand of 999 calls after they received more than 100 from a hoax caller.

A spokesman for the force said: “Every week, call handlers in our Demand Hub receive many calls to 999 which are not genuine emergencies. In fact, on average around 80% of the 999 calls we receive should not have come through to the emergency line.

“To reserve call handlers’ time on the line for real emergencies, we ask that you only call 999 when someone is in immediate danger, people are injured, offenders are nearby, or immediate action is required.”

In one call, which has been published on the police’s social media pages, the woman, who says she is from Paston, is advised to phone Peterborough City Council – but the woman repeats her concern about the bins not being emptied.

In another, a Peterborough man asks to cancel his bus pass – and tries to find the name of the officer answering the 999 call – despite being advised to call the council the following day.

Another 999 call saw a man trying to get to Ramsey – and saying he would try to get arrested to get the lift. The 999 operator advises him to call for a taxi.

Hoax calls can cost lives

The spokesperson added: “For anything that is not time sensitive and does not require urgent police attendance, it will be classed as a non-emergency. For this, you can use our self-service online reports or web chat, or dial 101 if you do not have online access.

“As part of our #NotFor999 campaign, we’re sharing some real recordings of people misusing the emergency line to show the reality of what our call handlers face when trying to assist people in times of serious need.

“This is to remind the public that if an emergency service is busy attending or dealing with a hoax call, they could be prevented from attending a genuine call. This can cost lives and waste valuable resources.

When to call 999

If you are unsure whether you require the emergency line or not, the general guidance is to call 999 if:

An offence is in progress, or has just happened

The situation requires immediate police presence

Someone is in serious danger / harm

The offender / offenders are still at the scene

The situation is likely to escalate and could cause a disruption to the public

Property is likely to get damaged

For more information, visit www.cambs.police.uk/police-forces/cambridgeshire-constabulary/areas/campaigns/campaigns/not-for-999