Man who made 68 calls to 999 found lying drunk in his bed with no problems

Police are urging people to only ring 999 in an emergency after a man made a staggering 68 calls to the emergency services when nothing was wrong.

We've all got drunk stories we'd rather not tell, but this one man from Newark will certainly not want to tell this one to the grandchildren.

Nottinghamshire Police said that the unnamed Newark resident rang the control room 68 times in September over just a 90-minute period.

When on the phone, the force said the man would often hang up on officers when they questioned him on what was wrong.

After not getting anywhere on the phone, officers decided to visit his address to find him drunk in bed and needing no help from the police.

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Calls like this are becoming more common for Nottinghamshire Police, according to its press release on their website.

The force also said that recently they were called by a Mansfield resident who needed help getting out of his own shed.

The intoxicated man told police 'he didn't know where he was' and then asked the officers for another beer - he later told them that the police were not needed.

Nottinghamshire Police also recalled an incident where they were bizarrely called by an angry motorist after a garage didn't accept his fuel voucher.

As a result of these incidents, the local police force has issued the plea to residents to only phone them in an emergency, adding the '999 number is not there to be called for trivial matters'.

Nottinghamshire Police Chief Inspector Christopher Sullivan said: "These are just a few examples of the number of hoax or inappropriate calls we have recently received.

"These calls take away valuable time from our officers who need to attend real-life emergencies or crimes that affect our residents, some of which will be life-threatening or life-altering.

Nottinghamshire Police

"Calling the 999 number 68 times over a 90-minute period when drunk is unacceptable. Officers attended the address and found the man in bed. This is a complete waste of our resources.

"We are now approaching one of our busiest times of the year – Christmas – and there is a lot of pressure on our service.

"We are reminding people that they should always call 999 if a crime is in progress or an immediate risk to life and safety."

The misuse of a 999 call is a criminal offence - and if found guilty - could be fined or even sent to prison.

If you make a hoax call, you could be faced with a maximum penalty of up to six months in prison or a £5,000 fine.