DRUNK people who dialled 999 for an ambulance to taxi them home and other crazy calls for help are costing the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds in Oxfordshire each year.

Today, South Central Ambulance Service staff spoke out to plead with the public to stop wasting their time and to use the emergency number responsibly as it was revealed it costs £257 each time an ambulance is called.

In the past three months, ambulance crews have dealt with a call from a young woman who had a headache after a night out in Oxford city centre, a man in Banbury who wanted paramedics to treat his dog’s injured leg, and a man from Kidlington who was reporting that a hedgehog had been run over.

On New Year’s Eve, a drunk man called for help to get up the steps to his house in the city centre, and ambulance workers say that a large percentage of late-night 999 calls on Friday and Saturdays are made by those too inebriated to get a taxi home.

Alan Weir, area manager in Oxfordshire, said his crews often spent hours phoning friends and parents of those the worse for wear in the city centre who have no injury to treat.

He added: “We don’t do rides home. As a last resort we take people to A&E, but there’s no cure for being drunk.

“There’s an urban myth that when you arrive in an ambulance you go to the front of the queue. You don’t. Everyone is assessed by triage.

“I have attended an incident where someone living 600 yards away from the Horton Hospital in Banbury had got the fluffy bit of a cotton bud stuck in his ear.”

The paramedic service said it was hoping people would listen to its pleas for help, rather than resorting to billing or fining time-wasters.

Despite the fact that each unnecessary call costs the taxpayer £257, spokesman Kat Byles said: “SCAS does not bill time-wasters. This is not the NHS ethos.

“However, should people abuse the service repeatedly, the Act of the Obstruction of Emergency Workers Bill can be used when people intently prevent the work of the emergency services.

“In the past, people have been given Asbos for repeatedly abusing the service. They are usually given in partnership with the local authorities.”

Mr Weir said: “In a non-emergency people can get advice from the GP out-of-hours service by calling 0845 345 8995 or by NHS Direct on 0845 4647.”