Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe BIRMINGHAM, England, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- British police want people to make sure they only call the emergency phone number for dangerous emergencies, not such things as not being able to hear the TV. Police in England's West Midlands region say time-wasting 999 calls -- Britain's equivalent of 911 calls in the United States and Canada -- included one in which someone told emergency dispatchers he could not hear the television due to a car engine revving outside, Sky News reported. Advertisement Another caller complained her partner was taking too long to buy cigarettes. Yet another person called to report a hedgehog got its head stuck in a cardboard soup container. "Over 50 percent of calls received by the police are not appropriate," Superintendent Angela Booton of West Midlands Police said. "This is a vital emergency service for the public and any misuse could have serious consequences," adding misusing 999 "can and does cost lives." She recommended people call the local police non-emergency number for any other purpose.
