This is the moment a woman called 999 to tell police she'd paid the wrong amount for a bottle of fruit squash in Morrisons.
The caller then confessed to the call handler she'd really rang because she couldn't get through the supermarket's customer service line.
Northumbria Police is now reminding people to only use the number in emergencies and consider the needs of others when calling.
Chief Superintendent Supt Neil Hutchison, from the communications and operations department at Northumbria Police, said wasting police time is completely unacceptable.
He added: "Calls like these might seem harmless and even funny, but they create a huge demand on the staff working in the communications centre who could otherwise be busy dealing with genuine emergencies.
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“Hundreds of calls come into our communications centres every day and we want to be able to deliver an outstanding service to everyone who gets in touch.
"We hope that the public can work with us so that we can make sure those people unfortunate enough to be involved in serious incidents can receive police assistance as quickly as possible."
Similar warnings were issued to the public over the festive period, ahead of New Year’s Eve, which always proves a busy night for the Force’s call handlers.
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This year a total of 796 emergency 999 calls and 365 101 calls came in between 7pm New Year’s Eve and 7am New Year’s Day.
Northumbria Police receive around one million calls to the non-emergency number every year but roughly 15% of those are about non-police matters.
Police are also asking the public to consider reporting non-emergency incidents online – and to only call if they need urgent assistance from police.
Chief Supt Hutchison added: "We would also ask you to consider visiting our website where we have details of other agencies who may be more appropriate to help deal with your query.
"You will also find an online reporting form where you can submit a crime report without having to call us.”
For more information on what matters the police can deal with, and to report an incident online, follow http://www.northumbria.police.uk/contact
If you have a non-emergency call, you can report this online at www.northumbriapolice.co.uk
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