A man called a council to report that he was being “harassed by a frog”.

The resident of a communal block of flats in Crawley contacted the town’s borough council for help because he was upset that the amphibian was harassing him, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Another person called and asked for money for “nice clothes” because she was starting a new job.

She had previously contacted the town’s Jobcentre, who had turned her away.

Crawley Borough Council revealed details of some of its more bizarre requests to coincide with the 10th birthday of its contact centre.

A statement from the council said: “A resident wanted our pest control officer to remove a frog from the bottom of the communal stairs in the block of flats. We advised it would probably hop off of its own accord but the resident was adamant that the frog was harassing him.”

The statement continued: “One customer called to say she was returning to work after several years out of work and asked if we could give her some money to buy some nice work clothes. She had also asked the Jobcentre, with no joy there either.

“Customers driving into Crawley without satellite navigation have called the contact centre for someone to talk them through driving around the town.

“A customer called to say he had to attend a funeral in Nottingham and asked if we would pay his rail fare.”

Councillor Claire Denman, cabinet member for customer and corporate services, said: “The contact centre has been providing a great service to Crawley residents and visitors for ten years. Over that time the way people interact with the council has changed but the service has continually moved forward to ensure it meets our customers’ needs – and will continue to do so.”

The number of telephone calls received has reduced from 300,000 a year to 240,000, although the number of people visiting Crawley Town Hall remains around 120,000 each year. The number of emails has doubled in ten years, with the team now handling more than 16,000 each year.