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South Yorkshire Police call handlers answered more than 24,000 emergency 999 calls last month – including one from an Uber passenger saying their driver was going the wrong way.

The force also received a 999 call from a caller complaining they could not hear their TV because “the children upstairs run around all the time”.

Details of the inappropriate calls were released by police chiefs when they revealed how busy the force was last month dealing with genuine calls.

In addition to a total of 24,172 emergency 999 calls, the force also answered 27,750 calls to the non-emergency 101 number.

An Uber passenger dialled 999 to report a driver for going the wrong way (Photo: Yorkshire Post)

Callers waited an average of five seconds for a 999 call to be answered and 4 minutes and 37 seconds for a 101 call to be picked up.

South Yorkshire Police said: “We answered almost 52,000 of your calls last month. Our call handlers are still here 24/7 if you need us. To help us help you and answer your calls quicker, remember you can report non-emergencies online on our website.”

In August, one caller dialled 999 to say: “Come and fix my leaking roof and come on blue lights.”

The month before, another caller dialled 999 and said: “My wifi isn’t working, do you know what time it is?”

Earlier this year, a woman called 999 because she was unhappy that a nail shop refused to give her a refund after complaining she was dissatisfied with her nails.

Another woman phoned the force’s emergency number crying because she ordered an iPad 11 on Amazon, and they delivered an iPad 10.

A man dialled 999 because he wanted South Yorkshire Police to provide him with directions to a local bed and breakfast and South Yorkshire Police received a call from a woman who wanted officers to go to her home and cook her some food, because she was hungry.

Last week, neighbouring West Yorkshire Police revealed a woman received a telling off after dialling 999 to complain that her UberEats food order didn’t arrive.

In her call, the woman is heard saying to the handler: “Hello, so basically last night I ordered something from a restaurant on UberEats. The thing is shut and it has gone to another address, and my order hasn’t come.”

South Yorkshire Police receive 999 call from passenger saying Uber driver was going the wrong way

She went on: “I have rang the shop back and asked for a refund, but they said they can’t give me it.”

The call handler promptly responds by telling her: “This is a civil matter. Please do not call 999 for this again.”