Woman rings 999 after dry cleaner refuses to hand over clothes

A woman rang 999 in Leicestershire to complain that a dry cleaning service was refusing to return her clothes and a quilt.

And a man thought it was appropriate to ring the emergency line because a parcel had gone missing.

Police has launched a new campaign asking people to think before dialling 999 to try to reduce the number of people calling the line inappropriately.

Leicestershire Police received a record number of 999 calls on Hallowe’en last year:

• 1,025 emergency and non-emergency calls

• One call every minute between 5pm and 9pm

Police say anti-social behaviour such as fly tipping, on-going noise nuisance, dog fouling, should be reported to the local authority.

Abandoned vehicles, should be reported to the council, unless they are causing an obstruction or danger, or they are believed stolen.

Untaxed vehicles should be reported to the DVLA.

Non-emergency crime can be reported via 101 or online www.leics.police.uk