AN ARGUMENT over stick insects has caused North Yorkshire Police to urge the public to think before phoning the emergency services.

Paul Richardson, deployment manager with the Force Control Room in Fulford, said the call came in at about 4pm on Sunday.

He said: "We had a call from a woman in West York who had a domestic split with her partner. He had bought the children some stick insects and a glass container, and he returned the children with the container.

"Neither of them wanted the insects, so she asked if she could bring them to the police station and leave them with us. I think she was surprised when we said no. People think we have this endless resource that we can deal with any issue whatsoever. She was left with some advice about what police can and can't do."

Although it was briefly considered amusing, Paul said there was a serious side to the call, as it took an operator away from being available to genuine emergency calls, and was sadly not an unusual event.

He said: "It happens all the time. My colleague was straight out of training and her eyes were wide open - she said you won't believe what I've just dealt with!

"While dealing with that she's out of the line and can't deal with anything else, it takes an operator away from potentially life or death situation so we need to ask the public to think whether their call is necessary to the emergency services. Is it really something we can assist with?"