FOR most people, deciding when to dial 999 and ask for the police is a black and white issue.

So it turned out for one Somerset man who called on the emergency number to report being chased by a badger.

The force has issued a voice recording of him telling the operator: "I just needed to double check if this is something that needs to be reported to you guys. I just got chased by a badger in the Yeovil area.

“Is that something you guys would need to know about?”

The woman call handler then asks: “You got chased by a badger?”

He answers: “Yeah, I was just wondering if that’s something you need to be aware about. I’ve literally just got away.”

She replies: “No, that’s not something we would deal with.”

The man then asks if he ought to contact animal control and the 999 operator tells him: “Um – you could contact them. I mean, where has it gone?”

The man then reveals: "Well, I didn’t see where it went.

“Basically, I sort of ran away and after dangling my keys a bit and sort of shouting at it a bit it ran off. It was quite vicious. It wouldn’t stop running for a good, like, 20 or 30 feet.”

The call handler says: “Yeah, I’d contact them. There’s nothing that we would be able to do unfortunately.”

The grateful man retorts: “Oh right. Well, I just thought I’d better double check.”

The call handler then says: “That’s fine, not a problem. Glad you’re OK.”

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