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| West Midlands Police finish 24-hour 999 tweetathon | |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| Police have released details of inappropriate 999 calls they have received, including one from a man struggling to be served in McDonalds and a woman wanting a laptop password. | Police have released details of inappropriate 999 calls they have received, including one from a man struggling to be served in McDonalds and a woman wanting a laptop password. |
| West Midlands Police tweeted details of the calls to encourage people to think before dialling 999. | |
| The force wants more people to use the non-emergency 101 number and keep 999 lines for life-or-death situations. | The force wants more people to use the non-emergency 101 number and keep 999 lines for life-or-death situations. |
| The real-time tweetathon closed at 07:00 GMT on Saturday. | |
| West Midlands Police said they had received 1,420 calls to 999 over the 24 hours. | |
| One of the first tweets said: "999 call just received from an unlocked phone in a pocket, tying up an emergency line. Remember to check your phone is locked!" | One of the first tweets said: "999 call just received from an unlocked phone in a pocket, tying up an emergency line. Remember to check your phone is locked!" |
| A further call received during the "tweetathon" was from a caller requesting assistance to obtain a refund from an expensive car wash, while a separate "emergency" call was made by a member of public reporting a spiritual healer as a fraud. | A further call received during the "tweetathon" was from a caller requesting assistance to obtain a refund from an expensive car wash, while a separate "emergency" call was made by a member of public reporting a spiritual healer as a fraud. |
| One man called 999 to ask how to dial 101, asking if he had to press the hash key and press 0121, the area code for Birmingham. | One man called 999 to ask how to dial 101, asking if he had to press the hash key and press 0121, the area code for Birmingham. |
| Since midnight emergency staff also took nine calls about payment disputes between taxi drivers and their customers. | |
| The force also said a "male called 999 to say he has a heart problem as he is in love with a girl whom he does not know" and it tweeted a 999 call from a man who wanted them to "come out to frighten his sister", describing it as "a waste of police time". | The force also said a "male called 999 to say he has a heart problem as he is in love with a girl whom he does not know" and it tweeted a 999 call from a man who wanted them to "come out to frighten his sister", describing it as "a waste of police time". |
| Ch Insp Sally Holmes said: "These calls are ridiculous...we regularly receive calls on the 'nines' about lost property, people asking for directions and from people who have been denied entry to a nightclub." | Ch Insp Sally Holmes said: "These calls are ridiculous...we regularly receive calls on the 'nines' about lost property, people asking for directions and from people who have been denied entry to a nightclub." |
| She said nuisance or hoax calls put pressure on staff and could delay them answering genuine "life or death" calls. | |
| The force tweeted that on Friday evening its genuine emergency calls included two separate reports of stabbings. | |
| Staff at the force contact centre in Bournville in Birmingham - where all force-wide 999 calls are processed - finished tweeting via @WMPolice at 07:00 GMT on Saturday. | |
| The centre has a total of 87 staff working across five shifts day and night, with 56 staff taking non-emergency 101 calls, she said. | The centre has a total of 87 staff working across five shifts day and night, with 56 staff taking non-emergency 101 calls, she said. |