Lives across the county are being put at risk every day, because the 999 service is being abused, Kent Police has warned.

Nuisance calls made to 999 on a weekly basis include requests for taxis, chemist opening times and reports of lost dogs.

In the last 12 weeks Kent Police Force Communications Centre (FCC) staff have answered calls that included:

* A worried mum who rang 999 to ask police to collect her drunken son from Brighton and return him home safely. When asked how old her son was, the caller replied. 32. 

* A man who was trying to buy cigarettes in a shop and was asked for ID. He rang 999 and asked them to look him up on the police systems to verify who he was and that he was 19, so he could buy his cigarettes.

* A drunk male who left his coat in a bar phoned 999 to say he was going to kick the door in, in order to get it back.

* An abusive woman who rang 999 twice to ask for the Citizen's Advice Bureau's telephone number.

* A woman who was due to hold an event in her field, dialled 999 to say she had woke that morning to find campers on it.

Chief Inspector Simon Black from Kent Police's FCC said: "Inappropriate or negligent calls to the 999 service may not appear significant to the caller, but every second of those calls means a life or lives are being put in serious danger as result of that caller who does not require our emergency help.

"Lost pets, train timetables, chemist opening times and directions are not a matter for 999, yet these are a weekly occurrence for our police staff employees who work extremely hard within the FCC to help those in genuine need.

"I urge people to use common sense and before dialling ask themsleves 'is this an emergency?', or 'is this a crime still being committed?'
"If the answer is no, you should contact your local police station number or 01622 690690 and allow us to help those who really need it."

The FCC answers approximately 250,000 999 calls a year, an average of 700 every day. Around 10 per cent of those made are nuisance calls.

In 2008, two youths persistently called police, fire and SECAS and over a period of three hours and made 66 nuisance calls. Some of these were abusive.

The owners of the phones were traced and the mobile phone companies agreed to immediately disconnect both lines.

Both were arrested for being a public nuisance and later had to pay £60 each for reconnection of their phones.

Ch Insp Black said: "Nuisance calls reduce our ability to deal with genuine emergencies, and the lives of others are endangered. It could be your family or friends who are in need of our help.

"The demands on our service are great and expectations are high. When people need help in an emergency they expect to have a swift response and have officers with them as quickly as possible, but calls such as those highlighted, clearly delay staff from deploying units to those in real need.

"If someone died because we were delayed in getting there to help due to a nuisance call, what would happen then?

"Careless calls really do cost lives."