Listen to the angry Debenhams customer who called 999 to complain about a refund as the nation faced a security crisis
This is the moment a man phoned 999 in the middle of a national security alert to complain that Debenhams would not give him a refund.
West Midlands Police released audio of the shocking call which was made yesterday, as armed police were deployed the region's streets in the aftermath of the Manchester suicide bomb.
The caller tells police he is in Debenhams and is not happy that they are refusing to change an item.
The call handler says: "Are you telling me that you're in Debenhams and the staff won't change an item for you?"
The force released details of several inappropriate and bizarre 999 calls yesterday, as well as calls to the 101 number.
Chief Superintendent Sally Bourner, Head of Force contact said: “We are asking the public to just think before calling the police at this critical time.
"At the moment our officers and staff are juggling a huge number of demands and we ask people to be patient and bear with us. Of course any suspicious behaviour or emergency should still be reported on 999 but we have limited resources and still get time wasting calls.
“Recent examples of misusing the 999 system include calls about a shop not offering a refund, a picnic taking place in a park and spilled paint.
“We are averaging between 4-5,000 calls a day in total and we need to assess each and every one so please think before dialling."
