Woman Dialled 999 After Chippy Sent Three Saveloys Instead Of One

The Met Police have released audio footage of 999 calls where the incident reported was not actually an emergency - including a woman complaining after she was sent three saveloy and chip portions from the chippy, rather than one.

Along with the erroneous saveloy and chips order (which to me sounds like a dream come true, rather than an emergency), the clip also features a man asking for the time and another complaining about a packet of biscuits being out of date.

The footage was released as part of a campaign called #ThinkBeforeYouDial, with the Met Police tweeting: "Calling 999 to report out of date biscuits, an extra saveloy and chips or to ask the time is not an emergency and wastes police time, potentially putting other lives in danger."

Between 1 January and 30 November 2019, the Met's Command and Control call centre received 2,157,080 calls.

However, from those calls, a total of 25,448 were closed by call handlers after being identified as hoax.

Of these, 22,491 were hoax 999 calls, 2,912 were hoax 101 calls, while the remaining 45 were hoax burglar alarm calls.

PA

Chief Superintendent David Jackson, who is in charge of call handling for the Met, warned that hoax calls were not only a waste of police time, but could also be putting lives at risk.

He said: "Although these calls can be perceived as amusing, they are actually a huge waste of the Met's resources.

"These hoax calls block the number from other members of the public who could be calling 999 in a real emergency, keeping people in danger waiting for longer and putting lives at risk.

"If you are in a situation where you need to speak to the police, please think; the use of the 999 system is for emergencies only and we have other channels where you can speak with us."

The Met Police advises that if if is not an emergency, you're best calling 101.

You can also report all crime, anti-social behaviour and other incidents online 24/7 via www.met.police.uk, or tweet any non-emergency enquiries to the Met Police Twitter account, @MetCC.

And if the chippy sends you three saveloys instead of the one you ordered? Well, just sit back and enjoy.

Topics: Police, Food, UK News, News, crime

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman