Police warn against misuse of the 999 system this festive season.

A woman calling the 999 emergency line to complain that ‘The wrong food was delivered!’ - is just one example the Metropolitan Police Service is highlighting to advise the public of misuse calls made during the festive period.

Christmas and the New Year traditionally sees the 999 emergency line at its busiest, which is why the MPS is urging the public to use the system sensibly.

In 2012 the Met received a total of 4,687,642, emergency and non-emergency calls, of which 25,749 were nuisance calls. While this year to date the Met has taken 3,205,260 calls (Jan to end of Nov) of which 18,333 were nuisance calls.

To emphasise this concern, the Met is releasing four examples of calls made over the last year and festive season which did not require a police response and include calls, classified as 'nuisance', such as:

A caller complaining about a faulty purchase made at a Christmas market; an enquiry about locations of New Year's Eve fireworks displays; a report of a dead squirrel and a food delivery made to the wrong address.

To some it can be difficult to judge what is or is not an emergency, but in general you should call 999 if:

• Someone’s life is at risk or someone is being physically threatened
• When a crime is in progress or if the offenders are still nearby
• There is a road traffic collision causing personal injury or danger

The Met is reminding the public that in a non-emergency, if they need to contact the police they are to call the non-emergency number, 101.

The 101 number is part of a national programme to improve access and to give the public an easy way to contact police if they do not need an urgent response. For example, the public should call 101 to report less urgent crime or disorder, or if they have a general police related enquiry. Examples of which can be:

• If your car has been stolen
• If your property has been damaged
• where you suspect drug use or dealing

While abandoned calls are not classified as nuisance calls, they take up operators time as the majority of them have to be called back to ensure that emergency services are not required.

The MPS Central Communications Command is where the Met receives all of London’s police emergency calls. Nuisance calls are closely monitored, especially those calls where individuals are identified as repeat abusers of the 999 system which prevents operators answering calls from genuine members of the public needing assistance.

The most frequent nuisance callers are looked at each day, focusing on the top ten in each London borough, where the caller has caused a disruption to the efficiency of the 999 and 101 call systems, making prosecutions, where appropriate. Last month, a 38-year-old man from Wembley was jailed for six months for abusing the 999 emergency system for making hoax emergency calls.

Chief Superintendent Jim Read, of the MPS Central Communications Command, said: "We want Londoners to have a safe and enjoyable festive season however in the event that police are required, we need their calls to reach us swiftly."

"Nuisance or deliberate misuse of the 999 emergency system presents a very real risk to our ability to effectively respond to genuine emergencies that can sometimes be the difference between life and death."

"The MPS is here for London and it will be business as usual for our call handling centres over the Christmas and New Year period."

"I would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that if it is not an emergency then please dial 101, our single-non emergency number".

MPS figures show that in 2012 there were 1,864,426 recorded 999 emergency calls. 472,842 calls received by both 101 and 999 calls were graded as an immediate response required i.e. a genuine emergency.