AS a campaign to raise awareness about the correct time to call 999 and 101 comes to an end, Wiltshire Police has released a list of some of the most inappropriate calls they receive.

Officers say time wasted on dealing with spurious requests could be spent helping someone whose life is at risk.

While some of the stories are entertaining, police say there is an important message behind them.

Examples include:

1. A woman phoned police to report a large poisonous spider in her home preventing her from leaving. She had just had some furniture delivered and believed the spider may have travelled in a crate from overseas. An officer attended and upon investigating, found the 'spider' was in fact a piece of fluff under the kitchen door.

2. A man called police to report his Sky TV remote wasn't working. Our call operator politely informed him this wasn't a police matter and suggested the man turn his Sky box off at the wall, or change the batteries in his remote.

3. A man called Wiltshire Police asking to be put through to Greater Manchester Police because he was watching a game between Manchester United and Manchester City on television and he wanted to make a complaint about the referee who had just sent a player off and awarded a penalty. Our call operator refused to transfer him to GMP.

4. A man trying to find his way home through woods after a night out called police because he feared a badger may attack him, despite not seeing any badgers nearby.

5. A six-year-old boy called in because his next door neighbour's dog had just eaten his Jaffa cakes which he had bought with his pocket money. He said his mum or the dogs owners would not give him any more money to buy some more.

6. A man once dialled 999 to report his phone had been stolen. He was told 999 is a life or death emergency line and he would need to call 101. The man replied 'This is an emergency, my phone is my life, you need to find it'.

7. An upset four-year-old boy called 999 because his big brother swore at him. He went on to tell our call operator that it is very naughty to swear and then police arrest naughty people, so his brother should be arrested.

8. A rollerskater called police asking for an officer to assist them get up a steep hill on their skates. 

9.  A tennis fan called police asking for the Wimbledon score in the men's final.

10. A woman called 101 complaining that a father and son were playing ball games on a grassed area near to her house and she didn't approve.

11. A woman called the police pretending to be the queen and asking for a police escort.

12. A man called police stating he wanted some clarification on a postcode.  He was unhappy that a local magazine had used a different postcode for a local restaurant to the one shown on the restaurant’s website and asked what our thoughts were.  The man was advised that calling the police was not appropriate for this kind of enquiry and was advised to contact the post office. He said he would do just that. 

Inspector Paul Saunders, critical incident manager, said: “Calls like this can be frustrating but I would never discourage anyone from dialling 999 if it was a genuine emergency. If you have an emergency, we will do everything we can to help you.

“If it is a matter of life or death, call 999. If you have information to tell us about a crime that has already happened, call 101.”

Up until 2am, Wiltshire Police will be live-tweeting from the control room examples of the calls they receive. Follow it at @wiltshirepolice