Leyland woman made a call to police that "conveyed a threat"

Emma Louise Jones, 27, of Balfour Street, Leyland, admitted she sent an electronic communication, namely a telephone call, to a Lancashire police officer which conveyed a threat for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety to the recipient on August 14.

The bench at Preston Magistrates’ Court discharged her for 12 months.

She must pay a £20 victim surcharge and £50 towards prosecution costs.

Jones admitted a further similar charge relating to an incident on July 31, when it is said she sent text messages to PC Gaskell of Chorley Police which conveyed a threat to cause anxiety or distress.

In August, Commissioner Clive Grunshaw revealed just 15 per cent of 999 calls to Lancashire’s control rooms are a genuine emergency.He spent a night in the Lancashire Police control centre to assess the type of calls coming in to operators.

Around 85 per cent of calls do not require an immediate response, and there are on average 664 999 calls made every day in the county.

Only 19 per cent of calls are crime related, and just over a third related to concerns for a person’s safety and mental wellbeing.

On its website the force says of the 17,000 calls per week, around 20 per cent are from people needing help to deal with personal or social issues, which the force says other agencies may be “better equipped” to deal with.