POLICE have put out a warning to people after a call from a member of the public got a prickly reponse.

North Yorkshire Police are appealing to people to use their common sense when calling the emergency number after a recent call put through to police asking them to come and rescue a hedgehog with it's head stuck in a gate.

"We love animals, and our officers on patrol will often step in help them as part of day-to-day police work - for example, herding a wayward cow off a busy road before anyone comes to harm," said a force spokesman. 

"But we have to draw the line when - as we did the other day - we get a 999 call asking us to rescue a hedgehog with its head stuck in a gate.

"Obviously we hope the little fella is OK. But with the best will in the world, this isn't something that's a 999 police emergency.

"If you're in any doubt, calling the police on 999 is for when a crime is in progress or someone is in immediate danger. If it's not urgent, you can report all sorts of things via our website - just Google 'North Yorkshire Police'.

"Online reports are dealt with in the same way as if you'd called the 101 non-emergency number."