Ananova:

A frightened British woman dialled 999 fearing burglars were drilling into a house - but police found the racket was being made by the caller's sex toy going off in her bedside cabinet.

The middle-aged woman heard a rapid thumping sound at her home in Durrington, West Sussex, and thought burglars were drilling into a building site next door.

Officers went to the scene but found nothing suspicious then called at her house to say they couldn't trace the noise.

Once inside her home they heard the din and found the faulty vibrator going off in a bedroom drawer, the Daily Star reports.

"They found it very hard to keep a straight face," said a police spokesman.

"She was genuinely scared. It was only when the officers went into her home that they realised what the sound was. Everybody felt a bit sorry for her. It's difficult to imagine anything more embarrassing."