Stunned police have issued a warning to people not to abuse the 999 system - after a woman rang to report the theft of a SNOWMAN.

Call handlers said a woman, from Chatham, rang in to say she had just looked outside her house and noticed that the snowman had gone.

This is despite Kent Police getting more than 8,000 general and 999 calls in the last 48 hours - double what it normally gets.

Officers were so annoyed they have released a recording of the 999 call - click on the audio player above to hear it.

Chief Inspector Simon Black, from Kent Police’s Force Contact and Control Centre, said: "This call could have cost someone’s life if there was a genuine emergency and they couldn’t get through.

"It was completely irresponsible. We have spoken to her and advised her what is a 999 call, and this clearly was not."

In the call the woman tells the operator: "There’s been a theft from outside my house.

"I haven’t been out to check on him for five hours but I went outside for a fag and he’s gone."

The operator asks "Who’s gone?"

The woman replies: "My snowman. I thought that with it being icy and there not being anybody about he’d be safe."

The incredulous operator replies: "Do you mean an ornament?"

And the woman says: "No a snowman made of snow, I made him myself

"It ain’t a nice road but you don’t expect anybody to nick your snowman."

The operator then tells her that it is an emergency line and she should not be ringing it to report the theft of a snowman.

Chief Inspector Black said "We do have powers to prosecute people for misusing the 999 system.

"But in this case the woman genuinely thought this was a theft that she should report it because she’d used pound coins for the eyes and teaspoons for the arms."