EMERGENCY service staff are urging people to stop making 'hoax calls' during the current coronavirus crisis.

It comes after two crews from Blackburn were called to reports of a person being trapped in a car that had hit a wall and crashed at Woodlands Corner in Blackburn at 8pm on Tuesday night.

Crew manager Ally O'Donnell said: "When we got to the scene there was no crash or person trapped in a car and it had just been a malicious call.

"Two crews from Blackburn and the police were also attending trying to chase it up and find it.

"We are urging people at this busy period not to waste resources making malicious calls and wasting police, fire service and ambulance crews time.

"If something had happened elsewhere in the town at this time, we would not have been available.

"Also it would have taken a longer time to get there if someone had really needed us.

"All emergency service staff are stretched at the minute and this sort of thing has a knock-on effect on our time and ability to get elsewhere.

"We were at the scene for about 15 minutes trying to find if someone had been hurt."