"Are there regulations on keeping crocodile in back garden?" council asked

A call asking whether there were any regulations on keeping a crocodile in a back garden has been named as the number one most bizarre request made to local authority customer services in the last 12 months.

The list was compiled by the Local Government Association. The top 10 calls in full were:

  1. Are there any regulations on keeping a crocodile in my back garden? (Reigate & Banstead Council).
  2. Can you teach me how to use a chain-saw? (Chelmsford Borough Council).
  3. Do you know where I could get an old bath that I could fill with custard? (Sutton Council).
  4. Can you send a pest control officer to remove a frog from the bottom of the communal stairs in my block of flats? (Crawley Borough Council).
  5. Am I allowed to bury my horse in my back garden? (Warwickshire County Council).
  6. “I’ve tried the number given on your website for the library but it doesn’t work” – “What was the number?” – “0900 1800” – “I’m sorry those are the times the library is open between” (Surrey County Council)
  7. How can I get permission to pitch a tent on the central reservation of the A35 trunk road? (Derby City Council)
  8. How do you make a marinade to put on my barbecue steaks? (Newark and Sherwood District Council).
  9. A lady rang to say she couldn’t get any reception on her TV. She’d already contacted the police and the fire brigade but they couldn’t help, so she called the council (Rossendale Borough Council).
  10. Can you remove all porn from the internet? (Westminster City Council).

Reigate & Banstead also received a call asking how long an egg would need to be left under a lamp for it to hatch.

Warwickshire was meanwhile asked by someone if they needed to take their photos of crop circles off the internet to protect national security.

Cllr Peter Fleming, chair of the Local Government Association’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said: “These light-hearted examples show the wide range of issues council staff deal with each day. Councils literally have to be ready for anything from the serious to the mundane and sometimes even mind-boggling.
 
“Councils try to help callers with support and advice as much as they possibly can. While the vast majority of calls fall within the bounds of councils’ usual responsibilities, there are occasions when call handlers are left baffled.
 
“The fact that councils are so often the first port of call for residents who are seeking a solution to their problems shows just how central a role councils play in the lives of their communities. While councils offer more than 800 local services, some requests really are beyond them.”