'I've been kidnapped by Mary Berry': Avon and Somerset Police reveal strange 999 calls
The police force conducted a 'tweetathlon' to highlight misuse of 999
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Avon and Somerset Police received some bizarre calls during a 24-hour ‘tweetathlon’ to highlight how the emergency call system is misused.
They tweeted that reasons for the 999 calls over the course of the day included an attempted abduction by baking guru Mary Berry, aliens in a living room and a man claiming that he was being robbed by Vodafone as he had no service.
Becky Tipper, a Call Handling Manager said: “Every day we receive an average of 3,000 calls, 550 of which are emergency 999 calls.
“During our tweetathlon we will be giving an insight into ‘a day in the life’ in our communications centre.”
Other calls included a child ringing multiple times and telling the operator: “yellow is my favourite colour… you pig!”, a woman who was concerned by the welfare of an emu in a fields and a man requesting for a lift to Tesco’s because he couldn’t find his friend’s house.
Berry could not be reached for comment at this time.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments