A person demanding a Big Mac and a complaint about chilli being too hot are just two of almost 7,000 hoax calls the London Fire Brigade received last year.

Other callers rang to claim the Statue of Liberty was on fire, while one woman complained about dogs barking.

Almost 20 false calls a day were answered at the LFB control centre last year and crews were sent out to 1,316 malicious hoaxes.

As the summer school holidays start LFB is asking parents to teach their children why they should not call 999 unless it is an emergency.

Tom George, LFB head of operational response, said: “We’re asking parents to talk to their children about why it’s a bad idea to dial 999 and make hoax calls.

“Sometimes children don’t understand the implications of making hoax calls or that they’re wasting precious emergency service time by doing so.

“Some of the calls we receive are remarkable, people say some really bizarre things.

“I understand that some have health issues or genuine phobias, which may impact on how they deal with certain situations, but many of the callers are simply messing about.

“Please talk to your children about the repercussions of making hoax calls and let them know that someone could be in genuine need of help whilst they’re wasting emergency service time.”

The 10 weirdest calls to LFB last year:

1. Caller said he was eating a hot chilli and his mouth was on fire

2. Man saying his pants are on fire

3. Caller claiming there’s a fire at the Statue of Liberty

4. Caller complaining of a barking dog

5. Woman calling to say she is scared of spiders

6. Caller stating she is scared of a dead cat outside

7. Person wanting a Big Mac

8. Children calling because they want to see firefighters

9. Caller asking for the Queen

10. Caller saying he’s the Prime Minister and reporting a fire at 10 Downing Street