MAGGOTS in a bin, stray dogs and even faulty traffic lights — these are just some of the 999 calls police have received this summer.

Officers, who have reported an influx of calls during the busy summer period, are now urging people to think carefully before they dial 999 or 101.

Greater Manchester Police dealt with an average of 3,571 emergency and non-emergency calls a day during April, May and June.

This increased by 19 per cent in July.

Police are reminding residents to only ring 999 if there is a direct and immediate threat to life or property, or if a crime is in progress.

Recent calls included one from a woman who called to report maggots in her bin, a man requesting ‘pregnancy pills’ and another man to complain that somebody had stolen his car park space.

listen to ‘GMP talk about Maggots’ on Audioboom

listen to ‘GMP talk about Parking space’ on Audioboom

listen to ‘GMP talk about Pregnancy pills’ on Audioboom

Diane Grandidge, GMP’s business lead for call-handling said: “Every false or inappropriate 999 call wastes precious time that could be spent dealing with genuine emergencies.

“Apart from potentially putting somebody’s life at risk, misusing the 999 system is a criminal offence and we have the power to prosecute people for making hoax calls.

“Each day we receive dozens of calls about issues that the police are not responsible for such as noise nuisance, stray dogs and abandoned cars.

“Answering these calls leads to delays in people trying to get through to us for legitimate reasons so please think ahead and decide whether it may be an issue for the council before picking up the phone.”

For general enquiries or to report less urgent crime or disorder, people should call 101. For example, if a car has been stolen, property has been damaged or to give police information about crime.

Calls about noisy neighbours, stray dogs, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, fly tipping or faulty traffic lights should be redirected to Bolton Council.