THE ambulance service has called for people to use it sensibly after someone dialled 999 for an ambulance because they were locked out of their house.

Another caller wanted help after a bird escaped in their front room, while someone phoned because their boiler had broken down.

The Scottish Ambulance Service urged the public not to make calls that waste time and resources during the festive period, when calls increase by up to 30%.

Pauline Howie, chief ­executive of the service, said: "At peak periods like the festive season, every inappropriate call has the potential to delay a response to a serious emergency."

The SAS said that the average response time to a life-threatening call was 6.5 minutes.