Woman calls police about snowman theft

CHATHAM, England, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Police in England's Kent county said a "completely irresponsible" woman called the 999 emergency number to report the theft of a snowman.

Officers said the Chatham woman called while dispatchers were taking thousands of calls about weather-related emergencies and reported "a theft from outside my house," the BBC reported Friday.

"I haven't been out to check on him for 5 hours but I went outside for a (cigarette) and he's gone," police quoted the woman as saying.

When asked the identity of the "he" she was referring to, the woman revealed she was talking about a snowman, police said. The woman told the dispatcher she believed the theft to be a police matter because she used money coins for the eyes and tea spoons for the arms.

Chief Inspector Simon Black said the woman's "call could have cost someone's life if there was a genuine emergency and they couldn't get through."

"It was completely irresponsible," Black said. "We have spoken to her and advised her what is a 999 call, and this clearly was not."