Police say abuse of 999 system is unbelievable

Mon, 27 Oct 2014

Police say it is "unbelievable" that they received numerous 999 calls over the weekend from people asking for a lift home.

During Saturday evening, and the early hours of Sunday morning, people were wrongly requesting their help.

One person told the operator that an officer on patrol had told him to call - other officers were also approached for lifts.

Police say they have to reiterate that the emergency services are not there to provide taxis and 999 is for emergency calls only.

They say blocking the line can delay genuine emergency calls which could potentially put someone else's life at risk.