LONDON -- When most people think of an emergency they might think of a life or death situation, or maybe one in which they or their loved ones are in immediate danger.
Not everyone has the same definition, though. In attempt to stop people from making ridiculous 999 calls, Britain's Metropolitan Police have released 10 of the strangest requests they had to deal with this year.
1. "A woman called asking for police to attend her property as there were men in her house trying to take her away. The men in question were, in fact, police officers who had attended her address to arrest her."
2. "Man called stating that he didn't have change for the parking machine. He claimed staff at the car park had kidnapped him because they were refusing to let him out for free."
3.
4. "Callers, who missed their alarm and were going to be late for a flight, wanted officers to take them to the airport."
5. "A man called 999 as he was advised to call 111 but didn't know their number."
6. "Callers phoned in distress; they were driving and the low fuel indicator light had come on."
7.
8. "A man called to say that his 50p coin was stuck in a washing machine at his local launderette and wanted police to retrieve it."
9. "'Where is the best place to get a bacon sandwich right now?'; was the question asked to a 999 operator at 04:00hrs on a Saturday."
10. "A woman called stating that she was angry -- she had seen a clown in London selling balloons for £5 each. This price was much more expensive than other clowns selling the same product."