Late pizza to 'confused' horses: Here are all the ridiculous reasons people rang 999 this year

Reports of a “confused” looking horse, cold pizzas and lost keys are just some of the nuisance 999 calls police have had to suffered over the last year.

Thames Valley Police revealed a list of ridiculous emergency calls that include one person asking officers to remove a stray cat from their house.

Officers suggested artificial intelligence could soon be used to handle some emergency calls — because operators are having their vital time wasted by daft calls.

One woman phoned to complain her National Express coach was 20 minutes late — and wanted police to investigate.

Another caller rang 999 to complain there was too much sweetcorn on his pizza, while one lost his keys in a car park and wanted police to help in the search.

Another caller saw a “rather forlorn” looking lady in the street and decided to give her £10 – but had a change of heart and wanted the money back.

There was a call from an man who lives in London who said he fell asleep on the last train and ended up in Slough — and wanted police to take him home.

But perhaps most worrying was the caller who reported a horse that was looking confused, while one man called after he burnt himself by spilling takeaway curry.

He said he called the restaurant had offered him a replacement, which he did not think was good enough.

Another wished to complain about the content provided by the BBC, specifically continual re-runs of Homes under the Hammer.

There was a caller unhappy that her pizza was delivered 10 minutes’ late, while another got on the wrong train so asked police for a lift to Aldershot.

One man rang 999 on a Sunday afternoon because he did not like the sounds of the bagpipes being played by a busker.

And after one caller’s shower was playing up, making a bleeping noise, they asked police for advice because they were unsure whether to call a plumber or electrician.

Thames Valley Police took 286,938 calls to the emergency number July 2016 and June 2017, an increase by 8.9 per cent on the previous year.

The force has recently suggested a robocop-style call-handling system as the government looks at how artificial intelligence will change society.

In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the Implications of Artificial Intelligence, Thames Valley Police said the tech “could perform many of the process-driven tasks that take place in the police”.

It said a 999 caller might even be able to describe an incident and be understood by artificial intelligence.

The submission added: “Speech analysis categorises the type of incident and detects indicators of stress from the caller.

“The date, time, location and offence details are recorded automatically.

“Solvability factors are calculated on the quality of the available data. The risk assessment provides a recommendation for officers on the next steps for the offender and also an appropriate support package for the victim.”

There force said there would be need to be a “high level of human oversight and clear justification.”