'Dial it down': Woman calls 999 as police car sirens wake her up from a nap
A woman in Cambridgeshire called 999 to complain that "too bl**dy loud" police sirens outside her house woke her from a nap.
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After the emergency call handler answered the phone with "police emergency", the unidentified woman proceeded to ask if officers could "dial it down".
When she received a politely-worded reply from the responder, who explained there was "very little" they could do about the sound, she let out a sigh and said: "Well I guess I'll just try and go back to bed then."
The 30-second audio clip was posted on social media by Cambridgeshire Constabulary in a bid to raise awareness of inappropriate calls to 999 which slows down response times to people genuinely at risk.
A spokesman said: "Please don't call 999 if our sirens wake you up from your afternoon nap .... Is it inconvenient? Sure. Annoying? Perhaps. But an emergency? Definitely not. It's all of our responsibility to use 999 responsibly.
"Inappropriate calls like this one slow down our response to genuine emergencies by tying up an operator. This stops genuine callers getting help and places the lives of others at risk.
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This audio was taken from a real call to 999 last week. 📞 Please don't call 999 if our sirens wake you up from your...
Posted by Cambridgeshire Constabulary on Thursday, August 21, 2025
"Whilst this call only lasted 30 seconds, those 30 seconds could be crucial for someone in an extremely dangerous situation.
"It is important that we educate children and young people about the serious dangers of misusing emergency services phone lines. Some children do not realise the danger they are placing others in and may see it as part of a practical joke.
The audio clip starts with the 999 call responder stating: "Police emergency."
In response, a woman said: "Hello, two of your cars have just woken me up from my nap."
Sounding faintly confused, the responder continued: "Right. Doing what? With their sirens on?"
The woman retorted: "Yeah the sirens are too bl**dy loud."
He proceeded to apologise and said there was "very little" they could do.
She responded: "Can you tell them to dial it down?"
After he responded in the negative, she said: "Ugh, well I guess I'll just try and go back to bed then."
According to Cambridgeshire Constabulary, around 80% of the 999 calls it receives are not emergencies.
During a period of three months last year, it answered 181 inappropriate calls including a man who was complaining about his TV not working.
Other calls included a man requesting a taxi home, a woman requesting the locks on her home be changed and a child stating their cat was up a tree.
