Fire station
The brigade said that they had to deal with 6,820 'malicious hoax calls' last year. iStock

In a bid to stop people using the 999 line for reasons other than an emergency, the London Fire Brigade on Tuesday (26 July) released the oddest hoax calls they have received.

Ranging from the sexual to the simply nonsensical, the brigade said that they had to deal with 6,820 'malicious hoax calls' in 2015.

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Out of those calls, control officers challenged 5,504, meaning they were deemed hoaxes and not attended by firefighters. Tom George, the Brigade's Head of Operational Response, Assistant Commissioner, said: "This summer holiday we're asking parents to talk to their children about why it's a bad idea to dial 999 and make hoax calls. Sometimes children don't understand the implications of making hoax calls or that they're wasting precious emergency service time by doing so.

"Some of the calls we receive are remarkable, people say some really bizarre things. I understand that some have health issues or genuine phobias which may impact on how they deal with certain situations, but many of the callers are simply messing about."

London Fire Brigade's 10 weirdest calls

    1. Caller said he was eating a hot chilli and his mouth was on fire
    2. Man saying his pants are on fire
    3. Caller claiming there's a fire at the Statue of Liberty
    4. Caller complaining of a barking dog
    5. Woman calling to say she is scared of spiders
    6. Caller stating she is scared of a dead cat outside
    7. Person wanting a Big Mac
    8. Children calling because they want to see firefighters
    9. Caller asking for the Queen
    10. Caller saying he's the Prime Minister and reporting a fire at 10 Downing Street

The brigade operates a 'call challenge' policy, meaning that suspicious operators will ask whether a call is a hoax and the caller is given the chance to admit and hang up. If multiple such calls are made from one number, it can lead to that number being cut off – or potentially prosecution.