The 32-year-old dialled the emergency number to say she was not able to make the 3.2km journey back home after being on her feet all day.

West Midlands Ambulance Service dispatcher Jo Bird tweeted about the incident with the hashtag #notataxiservice".

She said: "Female aged 32 has just called 999 as her feet are hurting after being out shopping all day & wants a ride home #999abuse #notataxiservice".

A recording of the call, made from Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire on Tuesday evening, has been released by the service.

The woman said: "Sorry about this but I've been on my feet all day and now my feet are hurting so much that I can't walk.

"They're burning. I've tried to tighten them or loosen them (her shoes) but it's not changing. I've got two miles to walk home and I'm not going to make it in this condition."

When the dispatcher told her the ambulance service would not be able to take her home, she said: "What will you do then?"

The caller hung up when the dispatcher tried to tell her an ambulance would take her to hospital if there was a medical reason for her not being able to walk.