Police post emergency calls on YouTube

TAUNTON, England, July 23 (UPI) -- British police say they have posted recordings of several unusual emergency calls on the Internet to deter people from making unnecessary reports.

Officials at the Avon and Somerset Constabulary said they are using the modern Internet networking approach to reduce the number of unneeded emergency calls they receive, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

One call posted by officials on the Internet video-sharing Web site, YouTube, was from a woman who said she couldn't find her glasses to prepare her lunch.

Another call exposes the plight of a man who was upset his wife didn't leave him a proper meal.

Phony callers can be fined as much as $10,000 and jailed for six months if caught, the newspaper said.

"Wasting the time of the emergency services could cost lives because the emergency services might not be available to respond to real emergencies if they are attending hoax calls," Chief Superintendent Dave Hayler said.