House proud woman rings 999 to complain her bins have not been emptied

House proud Peterborough woman is trashed by the police after ringing 999 to complain her bins had not been emptied

• Cambridgeshire Police released audio of the exchange with the 999 handler 
• The caller, from Paston, fumed that her bins had not been taken in two weeks 
• She was told it was not an emergency and to contact Peterborough City Council

A house proud woman, who rang 999 to complain that her bins had not been emptied, has been blasted by police for time-wasting.

Cambridgeshire Police have released audio footage of the furious caller from Paston in north Peterborough, who called the emergency number to moan that her bins had not been collected for a fortnight.

She said: ‘Now, this might sound funny. I’ve rung every call I can get. My dustbin hasn’t been emptied for two weeks.’

The bemused operator tells her that her call is not an emergency or a police matter.

The woman fumed down the phone: ‘Yeah but it’s two weeks since they’ve not emptied my bins and it stands out. I’m not being funny…’

The call handler said: ‘The police are not here to empty waste bins.’

He advised the caller to contact Peterborough City Council, to which she said: ‘Oh god, I don’t know whether I’ve got their number now.’

The operator pointed out that that the line ‘isn’t direct enquiries’ and ended the call, saying:  ‘As it’s not a life and death emergency, you’re blocking up a 999 line.’

The woman said ‘I’m very sorry,’ and thanked the operator.

Cambridgeshire Police released the shocking audio to demonstrate how police time can be wasted with non-emergency calls.

A spokesperson said: ‘Yes, this is a real 999 ’emergency’ call.

‘Our call handlers often have to redirect incoming 999 calls that should be either the non-emergency line (or our online services if you have access), or for other authorities altogether, like the council.’

The video released by the police online, which emphasised that this is a ‘genuine’ 999 call, added that 80% of 999 calls are not police emergencies and urged the public to ‘think before you call’.

This woman is the latest in a long list of people who baffled 999 operators with their requests.

In 2015, the Metropolitan Police released a list of their most bizarre nuisance calls from that year, including one woman who rang to report that she had just brought a kebab that was cold and that the shop would not replace it.

Another caller decided to ring at 4am on a Saturday to ask: ‘Where is the best place to get a bacon sandwich right now?’

The force also received a call from a woman who was angry because she had seen a clown selling balloons for £5, which she said was more than his rivals.

Then there was a man who phoned to say he had 50p stuck in a washing machine at his local launderette.

Another person called 999 to say he had been advised to phone 111 but did not know the number.

The Metropolitan Police once released a list of their worst time-wasting calls that year, which included a woman who bought a cold kebab, a man who wanted to know the number for 111 and holidaymakers requesting a police escort so they get to the airport on time

One panicked holidaymaker called to ask for a police escort to take them to the airport after sleeping through their alarm.

Another woman wanted officers to deal with noisy foxes outside her home, as they were stopping her from sleeping.

And finally, someone called because men had turned up at her property trying to take her away, when the men were in fact police officers arresting her.

The Metropolitan Police urged people to think sensibly before phoning 999 to try to limit time-wasting calls.

Chief Constable Pippa Mills, who in 2015 was heading up the Met’s Command and Control function as Chief Superintendent, said: ‘This is just a sample of inappropriate calls received by our operators this year.

‘Callers who do not have an emergency may prevent others who require our immediate assistance from getting through to us.

‘This presents a real risk to our ability to respond to genuine emergency calls.’

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