Ambulance service 'abuse' warning

The service said it had been called for a cup of tea

The ambulance service in Cornwall has urged people not to abuse the 999 service after a number of recent inappropriate calls.

The organisation said while some calls were not made by pranksters, people had to understand where to go for the correct help.

One recent call was to ask paramedics to check whether a Chinese take-away was safe to eat.

Other callers used the service to ask how to change television channels.

Andrew Kirchin from the South Western Ambulance Service Trust said lives were put at risk when resources were dispatched unnecessarily.

He said: "You'll get people phoning us up to say they just need a cup of tea, and we've had people who have run out of credit on their mobile phones and want to get a message to their family because they require a lift home.

"We have a finite resource and we're out dealing with something like that. A crew can only be in one place at one time."