999 Urban Myth

29 August 2013, 07:51 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Derbyshire Police are asking mobile phone users not to believe a myth that calling 999 charges your phone's battery.

The myth, which has been circulating for the last year, suggests that dialling 999 from a mobile and immediately disconnecting will charge the battery. It doesn't.

Officers have told Capital they've had several silent calls recently and say each time people have said they're trying to boost their mobile phone battery life.

Officers say they have to spend valuable time ringing the number back to check the caller's ok.

The rumour started about a year ago on an internet forum.

Myth Completely Untrue

A Derbyshire police spokesman said:

'There is no way any mobile phone battery can be boosted by anything other than a normal charger. We have received several silent 999 calls recently which have turned out to be people who are trying to get more charge on their phone.

'Every time we get a silent or aborted 999 call we have to spend time ringing that person back to ensure they are safe. That takes up valuable time which could be spent dealing with a real emergency.

'We’re appealing to anyone who hears this myth to ignore it and not waste their time or the time of emergency service personnel.'