A mother has been criticised for calling 999 because her son wouldn't get out of bed.
The woman dialled police requesting their help with her bizarre "emergency".
Essex Police are now urging people not to put lives at risk by abusing the 999 system, warning they could end up in court if found out.
Chief Insp Nick Lee, of the force's communication department, said: "These calls may seem amusing but the callers are clearly misusing the 999 facility.
"The public should only be calling 999 in emergency situations".
More than 13,000 non-emergency calls were received by police 999 call centres in Essex in the last 12 months, ten per cent of all 999 calls for the year.
Other instances of misuse of the system include a man from Colchester who wanted a cab for his drunk girlfriend, a woman wanting a chat and a girl who wanted police to remove a spider from her bathroom.
- More in today's Gazette
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