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A man who called 999 to report a squirrel being killed in a hit and run is one of a number of bizarre calls to the ambulance service revealed today.

The caller, who contacted the East of England Ambulance Trust in January, told call centre staff he had seen a car hit ‘something’ in Loughton.

He eventually admitted it was a squirrel which had been hit, but not before two ambulance crews had already been dispatched to the scene.

The operator asked the man if he required an ambulance, to which he replied: “I have witnessed a car hitting something and driving off and its neck was broke and it was a squirrel.

“I think it’s dead now, it’s like...  a baby squirrel.

The operator then asks the unidentified caller why he has called 999 to report a car hitting a squirrel, to which the man responds: “I don’t need one now cause he is dead now, innit.

“So it is OK for a little squirrel to die?”

The man finished by asking the operator to transfer him through to the RSPCA, before the call is ended.

The ambulance trust, which receives on average of 2,500 calls a day, said nine "highly inappropriate" had been made since January.

Apart from the squirrel hit and run in Loughton, A Chelmsford woman reported eating "too much takeaway food" and a man in Basildon reporting that he had dropped his burger and "it was bleeding".

Regional Head of Emergency Operations Centres, Gary Morgan, is warning the public that such inappropriate or prank calls could divert ambulance resources from genuine emergencies.

He said: “We’re an emergency service and our front-line staff are trained to save lives.

“However, sadly, some of the calls we receive are not even medical related and we will refer hoax calls to the police.

 "We prioritise all life-threatening calls to get the quickest possible response.

“However, that response can be affected if our call handlers and front-line staff are dealing with inappropriate 999 calls.

“We would strongly urge people who think it is funny to make a prank call to stop and think about the potential consequences.”