You would think in 2018 people would actually use the emergency services for … emergencies!
Well not in this case. Greater Manchester Police received a call from an angry customer who started off a call by saying: “I’ve got an emergency here.”
The male customer went on to explain: “I don’t know how you feel about this but KFC is closed and I’m not entirely happy.
“I’ve had to go to Burger King now.”
While this man was dealing with first world problems he was also wasting precious emergency service time and money, which could have been used for actually helping someone in need.
GMP received 74 calls to 999 and 154 to 101 in the hour they handled the KFC call.
Supt Mark Kenny, who oversees GMP’s call handling team, said: “While some think this is a harmless prank or joke, I want to reiterate the severity of this.
“We work as hard as we can to answer as many calls as possible but people like this who misuse the service put a real strain on our already stretched teams.
“At the same time this call came in officers were dealing with a multiple road traffic collision with people trapped, a welfare check after a disturbance in someone’s home, a large group of youths drinking and causing disturbance and the aftermath of an armed robbery.
“Please, think before you pick up the phone.”
Visit the GMP website www.gmp.police.uk/GMP4U for tips on how to best get in touch with the right people for your problem.
Image courtesy of West Midlands Police via Flickr, with thanks.
