CALLERS are trying to restore their mobile phone signal by dialling 999 – leading to a huge increase in abandoned emergency calls.

Cleveland Police said they were dealing with abandoned calls on an almost daily basis and warned people faced being fined if they misused the 999 number.

Inspector Darren Birkett, of the Cleveland Police Control Room, said he believed people were dialling the emergency number via their mobile phone in order to get a signal again if it has been lost.

He said: “We obviously have to look into every single abandoned 999 call as there could be a person genuinely in need of urgent assistance.

“In the last few weeks we have dealt with a number of people dialling 999 simply to restore a signal to their phone. This ties up valuable resources which need to be available for people who need immediate help.

“In one recent case, the caller was heard to say “wrong number” and he quickly cleared the line. Our extremely quick response time meant we picked up his call before he was able to disconnect.

“When we rang him straight back he even admitted he had deliberately rung 999 to get the signal back on his phone.

“The gentleman in this case was given words of advice, but I would now like to bring this misuse of our 999 system to the attention of the wider public, and to urge them not to do this.”

He added: “Anyone misusing the 999 system could face being fined, making it a very expensive phone call.”