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Man dials 999 mistaking the moon with a UFO

A man made an emergency 999 call to the police to report a UFO flying near his house, only to realise it was – in fact – the moon.

The anonymous man from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, described a brightly-lit UFO with a hole in hovering over his house and coming towards him.
The caller, who was recorded by Hertfordshire Police, appears to be confused about it on the phone.

However, the operator treats his account seriously and assures him that she has logged it and will get it checked out.

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After realising his error, the local man called back two minutes later to apologise to an exasperated operator.

In nervous laughter, he says: “I made a mistake. I thought I saw something really strange, but I didn't. You won't believe this, you won't believe it. It's the moon.”

Hertfordshire Police posted the audio footage online yesterday of some of the calls that were made earlier this month.

Jason Baxter, assistant manager at the force communications room, said: “While the caller here may not have been phoning out of malice, his call still tied up valuable police resources and time for something which was not an emergency.

“It also illustrates the kind of bogus call we might receive to 999, whether as a hoax or an inappropriate call.”

Police made the calls public as a reminder before Halloween that making a bogus call can stop important 999 calls from getting through.

The maximum penalty for hoax call offences is up to six months imprisonment and a £5,000 fine.