Man calls 999 over corked wine

A man in Manchester has been warned by police after he called 999 over a dispute about cork in his wine.

The man phoned the police emergency number claiming that staff at the bar he was at in the city were refusing to give him a refund and that he wanted police to settle the dispute.

Instead police immediately warned the man about inappropriate phone to the emergency services and was told that he could face a fine.

On its Twitter feed, Greater Manchester Police said: “Man rang 999 last night from city bar complaining his wine had bits of cork in and staff wouldn’t give him refund.”

When asked if police had any powers over people making “ridiculous” calls to 999, the police replied: “We can issue fixed penalty notice, but sometimes not worth sending cops to do this and better giving advice and hanging up.”

The unhappy wine buff had been drinking in Manchester’s Northern Quarter on Sunday evening when he phoned the police at around 11pm.

Insp Phil Spurgeon, from GMP’s city division, said it appeared the man was in dispute with staff.

Inspector Spurgeon told the Manchester Evening News: “These types of call tie up the emergency service lines.

“While a call handler is dealing with a call like it, someone else could be facing a real emergency.”