When emergency crews received a call saying 'someone ' had been knocked down by a car in Essex , they immediately sent two ambulances to the rescue . But the vehicles returned to base just moments later when the caller revealed the 'victim ' was actually a squirrel that had been run over in Epping Forest . The report forms just part of a long list released by East of England ambulance service detailing their most bizarre , and irritating , call outs . Two ambulances were sent to Epping Forest after a caller told crews 'someone ' had been run down , only for the 'victim ' to turn out to be a squirrel . Another man said he had dropped his burger and it was 'bleeding ' Another came from reveller in Basildon , Essex , who said ' I 've dropped my burger and it is bleeding ' , while a third woman in Chelmsford , dialled 999 to report ' I 've eaten too much takeaway food . ' The service said it receives around 2,500 calls per day , and in the last two years has had to deal with 1,248 that did not need emergency help . Front-line crews have attended almost half of the phoney calls , believing them to be genuine emergencies . Also on the list is a woman from Shoeburyness who called to say she was locked out of the house , while a man in Peterborough called to say his feet hurt after wearing shoes that were too small . In Hitchin , Hertfordshire , a man told 999 staff : ' I have been dieting and feel lethargic . ' Gary Morgan , Regional Head of Emergency Operations Centres , asked people to use common-sense when calling , adding that misguided or hoax calls could cost lives . East on England ambulance revealed the bizarre calls as part of a list of 1,248 inappropriate call outs , saying that crew attended half of them , potentially putting lives at risk ( file image ) 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 medically 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 . ' In another strange call one woman phoned to say she felt ill after eating too much takeaway , while a man reported that his feet were hurting after wearing shoes that were too tight .
police reported ' someone ' had been run over , but victim was a passenger . Another man dialled 999 to indicate he dropped a burger which was ' missing ' because of England ambulance officers warned emergency calls can cost lives .