A furious Tesco customer called 999 after mistakenly buying non-alcoholic gin and tonic cans. Audio from the 999 call, released by Hertfordshire Police, reveals the bizarre exchange where an irate customer wanted to enjoy a G&T in a nearby park — but was horrified to learn he had accidentally bought a non-alcoholic can.
To make matters worse, store management said he could not be refunded the £6 he forked out because he had already drunk one of the cans.
The 999 Call Exchange
The man, whose identity has been anonymised, starts the call by asking for a police car to be sent to a Tesco Extra supermarket to 'mediate over a problem'. When asked by the emergency call handler what the problem is, he replies: “I’ve just gone in there and they’ve got these miniature Gordon’s gin with tonic, it’s in the alcohol section.
“I’m going over to the park, because it’s nice and cool, and I’m sitting in shade and I look at it, it’s zero alcohol. And it’s in the alcohol section, so they all look the same. “I just brought it back and [the Tesco staff member] says ‘you’ve already drank one’, I said okay, I’ll pay for that one, can I exchange the other ones? It cost me £6 because I haven’t got a Tesco card.”
Call Handler Response
At this point, the call handler tells the disgruntled drinker the incident is 'not a police matter'. He then snaps back: “I’m really angry, so I’ll get arrested… because I’m not having it. “I’ve just paid them six quid for non-alcoholic gin and tonic.”
The call handler then tells the man to 'calmly' speak to Tesco management, but he suggests taking an alcoholic G&T instead — which she tells him not to do. She then ends the call.
Police Warning
Hertfordshire Police have used the incident to warn people not to waste call handlers' time, saying they would even be called for a broken microwave. A force spokesperson said: “Yes, someone recently called 999 because they accidentally bought a non-alcoholic gin and tonic.
“While this video might raise a few laughs, every unnecessary 999 call takes a call handler away from someone who could be facing a genuine emergency – possibly even life or death. “Our dedicated and ever patient call handlers have received calls about taxi services, what time it is, and even someone reporting that their microwave timer is broken!”
