Police have issued a warning after receiving several hoax 999 calls this week.

North Wales Police said hoax calls waste time and endanger lives, and they are appealing for anyone with information about the calls to contact them.

A police spokesperson said: “We’re issuing a warning following several hoax 999 calls being made to our force control room in recent days.

“One call was received last Thursday (October 12th), in which a person is believed to have called from a phone box in the Dyffryn Ardudwy area in Gwynedd.

“The caller was heard claiming to have lost their condoms before hanging up. They made two further calls, hanging up each time. Anyone with information about these calls is asked to contact us quoting reference A164130.”

Superintendent Llinos Davies added: “Making a hoax phone call to an emergency service is a criminal offence and the penalties can be very serious.

“Not only do they impact our ability to answer a genuine emergency call, but they also waste vital services and could endanger the lives of others by diverting emergency services away from those in need.

“We urge parents to have conversations with young people around the serious consequences of hoax calls to help to reduce demand into our control room heading towards the winter months.”