'Are there are any New Year's Eve firework displays local to me?': Police release new audio of ridiculous 999 calls

 
Rachel Blundy17 December 2013
WEST END FINAL

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If your turkey doesn't taste quite how you want this Christmas, please don't dial 999.

That's the message behind the latest collection of pointless emergency calls being released by the Metropolitan Police.

The calls included someone complaining about a faulty pair of heated gloves bought at a Christmas market.

Another person reported a dead squirrel being left on the grass where children were playing, while one woman complained a food delivery had been sent to the wrong address.

A final caller wanted to know the locations of New Year's Eve fireworks displays in her local area.

Last year, police received 25,749 nuisance calls out of 4,687,642 emergency and non-emergency calls.

People who require police assistance in a non-emergency situation should call 101, they said.

Chief Superintendent Jim Read, of the MPS Central Communications Command, said: "We want Londoners to have a safe and enjoyable festive season however in the event that police are required, we need their calls to reach us swiftly.

"Nuisance or deliberate misuse of the 999 emergency system presents a very real risk to our ability to effectively respond to genuine emergencies that can sometimes be the difference between life and death."

Listen to some of the worst calls below.

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