British woman gets cold shoulder for emergency call about ice cream without sprinkles

WEST MIDLANDS , England, June 4 (UPI) -- A British woman who called the West Midlands Police about her ice cream's lack of chocolate sprinkles did not get a warm response.

The department posted her call on SoundCloud and then tweeted it out:

Apparently, unnecessary 999 calls in the region happen quite often, and people have previously called about things like prostitutes not being attractive enough and forgotten Facebook passwords.

"These calls are ridiculous. Its astonishing listening to them but they hide a serious truth. Each call often takes minutes to deal with as our staff have to clarify the situation -- it might not sound like much but if someone is trying to get through to report a genuine life or death emergency, then a minute is a very long time to wait," said West Midlands Chief Inspector Sally Holmes.

People have also called 999 to ask for directions and complain about being denied access to a nightclub.

"I cannot stress enough that the 999 number is for emergencies only, for guidance this is defined as: a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is a danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened. To contact police for any other reason, call 101," Holmes said.