Mum Dials 999 To Ask Police To Babysit Son While She Goes On Holiday

A desperate mum dialled 999 to ask them to babysit her son when he decided he didn’t want to go on a family holiday.

The unnamed parent was set to go away with her husband when the child began “kicking up”, so she called the emergency line to see if they could step in.

Call handler Rhiannon Overton, who took the astonishing request, revealed: “We get some crazy requests but this was one of the weirdest.

“The son didn’t want to go on holiday and they asked if we could babysit him until they got back.

Tantrum: The mother called police when her son refused to go on holiday (Rex/posed by model)

“They had made a 999 call. When I said no, they said ‘what are we supposed to do then?’”

Rhiannon said that the call was just one of many bizarre calls made to Norfolk police over the past year.

She added: “We get drunk people phoning up because they want a taxi and have no money, or they want to get arrested as they have nowhere to stay.

“I’ve had people asking for my number, or if they could ever meet me, which I have had to decline.”

Issue: Norfolk police are highlighting the misses of the 999 number in a new campaign (Norfolk Police)

Norfolk police revealed the babysitting request in an attempt to tackle the 90,000 inappropriate calls they receive every year in the ‘Make The Right Call’ campaign.

The Contact and Control Room’s Superintendent Malcolm Cooke said: “People should only call 999 if there is a direct and immediate threat to life or property or if a crime is in progress.

“Our staff prioritises people who are in immediate need and if you ring 999 in error you will be directed to call the 101 police non-emergency number or sign-posted to the most appropriate agency.”

Top pic: Rex