Police raced to Epsom town centre on Friday night after reports that a man had doused himself in petrol and was threatening to set himself alight, only to find the call was a hoax.
The man was said to be outside pub chain Slug and Lettuce in Derby Square at about 10.50pm on Friday, May 27.
A spokesperson for Surrey Police said: “We did deploy officers to the area and we also activated Pub Watch to make people aware in the area.
“When we arrived we did a thorough search of the area and we couldn’t find anyone.”
Police are keen to target anyone making hoax calls.
Surrey police said it received 426,373 non-emergency calls last year wasting police time and resources which could have been directed toward real emergencies.
Anyone with information about hoax call should call Surrey police on 0845 125 2222 or anonymously Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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