Man dials 999 after woman stubs toe on Christmas tree

The Welsh Ambulance Service is warning people not to make inappropriate phone calls this winter after a man dialled 999 because a woman stubbed her toe on a Christmas tree.

Other emergency calls include a man wishing his friends a merry Christmas, while one woman asked for help for a stinging sensation after shaving her bikini line.

In more inappropriate 999 calls in the last year, one man asked for ambulance assistance to get into a locked church, while another called with toothache.

A list of inappropriate calls from the past year has been published to signal the launch of Be Wise Save Lives campaign for people to use 999 sensibly in the busy winter period.

Of the 470,601 calls received in the last year, 116,674 – almost a quarter – were categorised as not serious or immediately life-threatening.

Chief Executive Jason Killens said: “Inappropriate calls to our emergency ambulance service are a problem year-round, but especially as we head into winter when people are sicker and we have adverse weather to contend with.

“Our ambulance service exists to help those whose life is in imminent danger and for those who are seriously ill or injured."