UK police take to Twitter to show daily load

Faced with funding cuts, cops in England decided to show the world just how busy, complicated and trying police work can be.

The Greater Manchester Police hosted a tweetathon, posting details about every call made to 999 the UK equivalent to 911 on the social networking site for 24 hours.

Amidst hundreds of reports of stolen cars and bikes, domestic assaults, harassment, neighbour disputes and missing persons were a variety of weird, and often non-criminal, complaints.

One caller wanted advice about an unwanted guest, while another reported a man not walking a dog in a popular dog walking spot.

A report about a man holding a baby over a bridge turned out to be a man carrying a dog that doesn't like bridges.

A woman called to say someone else had uploaded a video to her YouTube account.

More than a few calls were accidents or pranks, most often babies playing with phones.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy, the man behind the tweetathon, said only about one-third of 999 calls are actual crimes. Policing, he said, is largely about dealing with social issues.

"Policing is often seen in very simple terms, with cops chasing robbers and locking them up. However the reality is that this accounts for only part of the work they have to deal with," said Fahy.

Fahy insists the publicity stunt wasn't just about fighting looming budget cuts.