Waiting too long for a meal in a pub or losing the house keys is hardly a matter of life or death.

But more than a quarter of a million calls - including such obviously trivial matters - made to Thames Valley Police this year have been unnecessary, were hoaxes or not emergencies and wasted valuable police time.

The 999 emergency number was used about 360,000 times to contact the force but 75 per cent of the calls - 270,000 - were not emergencies, said police.

Among them were people who dialled 999 to report they did not have enough money for a taxi and needed a lift home and one caller demanded a lift home to Brighton.

Other nuisance callers had fallen asleep on the train and dialled the emergency number to find out what town they were in.

Police have even been asked to come to a pub because a customer said he had been waiting too long for his meal.

Officers warned of the dangers posed by misuse of the emergency number as police prepared for one of the busiest times of the year.

Sgt Dave Clack, of the force's control rooms and inquiry department, said: "These calls obviously drain resources in our control rooms, meaning genuine callers with a real emergency to report may struggle to get through.

"People should stop and think before calling 999. Unless it's a life-or-death emergency, people are injured or the crime is in progress, people should call our non-emergency number - 08458 505505."

If someone persistently misuses the emergency number, police can ask for them to be disconnected to stop further calls and they could be prosecuted, he said.

The maximum penalty for making hoax calls and wasting police time is seven years in prison.

Other steps that can be taken include getting mobile networks to cut off persistent nuisance callers' phones. Police can also seek Antisocial Behaviour Contracts.

Sgt Clack said: "Statistics suggest that about 75 per cent of all 999 calls made were unnecessary.

"We regularly receive calls from people who don't have enough money to pay for a taxi demanding lifts to or from places as far away as Brighton and from passengers who have fallen asleep on public transport and woken up not knowing what town they're in.

"Some people have rung 999 because they have lost their keys and been locked out.

"One caller wanted to complain he had been waiting too long for his meal in a pub."

This year, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue received 122 hoax or nuisance calls out of more than 8,000 incidents.

The South Central Ambulance Service, which now covers Oxfordshire, estimates 10 per cent of calls are not an emergency.

Many of these callers are transferred to NHS Direct or the out-of-hours GP service for medical advice.