It's only to be used if someone's life is in danger - but a hungry time-waster called 999 because his pizza delivery was 45 minutes late.
It's one of four call recordings released by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in a bid to relieve pressure on the emergency phone line at its busiest time of the year.
Other calls were from someone who was scared of a hedgehog in their garden and a man who wanted police to help him get a refund for a pair of trainers.
Another man called police to ask for help getting his money back out of a hospital vending machine - and told the operator to f*** off when she said she was clearing the line for genuine emergencies.
Diane Grandidge, GMP’s business lead for call-handling, said “The Christmas and New Year period is the busiest time of year for our staff and every year we appeal to the public to be responsible in their use of the 999 emergency line.
“A large percentage of calls that are received on 999 are either non-emergency or simply calls that should not be made to the police.
“At this time of year many people are celebrating with friends and family and enjoying the festivities however, for those situations that need police attendance, we want to make sure that we can respond appropriately and - if there is an emergency - get there quickly.
“The 101 line is a national police non-emergency contact number for use when, for example, your car has been stolen, your property damaged or you want to provide information about a crime.
“We want to ensure that there are no delays in responding to an emergency call, therefore we will continue to urge the public to think before they dial 999.”
The 999 number is reserved for emergency calls only, with 101 available for non-emergency calls. An emergency call should only be made if there is an immediate threat to life or property or if a crime is in progress.
