EAST Lancashire MP Gordon Prentice is urging Cabinet Minister Patricia Hewitt to order a redesign of mobile phones to prevent the flood of "inadvertent" 999 calls which are causing major problems from the emergency services.
The Pendle Labour back bencher is alarmed that within the county more such calls are made from mobiles than land lines - and most of them are accidental.
They come from people sitting down on mobiles in their back trouser pocket, from accidental calls in women's handbags and from machines operated while in jacket pockets.
Mr Prentice said he had written to Trade and Industry Secretary Mrs Hewitt adding: "These false alarms are a huge problem.
"They clog up the system, and delay genuine calls getting through. It is too easy to dial a number by mistake.
"There is also a problem with multiple calls reporting the same things. The police told me last week they had received 93 calls about a swan on the M6.
"The police are getting on top of the problem but a phone redesign is a top priority."
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