Weird World: woman calls ambulance because of broken nail

A woman in a nightclub phoned for an ambulance after breaking a fingernail. Another woman dialled 999 saying a mouse had swallowed her medicine. Other calls included a man who needed someone to change the television channel, a man who had a dream he was unconscious and had collapsed and a caller who wanted a can of pop out of the fridge.

They were among thousands of timewasters revealed to have blocked 999 lines. The North East Ambulance Service also highlighted the growing number of revellers who call an ambulance to save queuing for taxis. They fake injury then wrongly assume ambulance staff will take them home after treatment.

A spokeswoman for NEAS said: "Some of the calls we get are ridiculous. We had two more just last night. One was from a woman who said her boyfriend was drunk and she needed help to get him upstairs to bed. Another was from someone who wanted us to deliver a takeaway to them."