New Number For Met Pests

Tired of calls from the chronically clueless about "good stain removers" or "rats in the kitchen" clogging up the switchboard (those are actual 999 calls, folks), the Met has launched an alternative phone line for non-emergency situations. It is hoped the number, 0300 1231212, will help cut down the 50,000 monthly calls - a quarter in all - that do not require an emergency response. A laudable effort, though when people are calling 999 because they "can't turn their tap off", one wonders if dialling an eleven-digit number might be beyond their skill.