Police in Victoria, B.C., say an accidental pocket dialing incident caused problems for 911 operators and one worried local mom this week.

Const. Mike Russell says Victoria's 911 communications centre received a call from a frantic mother who got a call from her daughter’s cell phone and heard terrified screams.

It turned out the daughter was at a horror movie and had inadvertently called her mother.

Victoria police say they've dealt with 828 accidental calls to 911 in the past six weeks. (iStock)

"And all she could hear on the other end of the line was screaming and yelling. It sounded like a very big struggle going on," Russell said.

"So we actually had to have our … staff try to get a hold of the daughter, and with so many pocket dials and abandoned 911s, it's certainly creating an extra burden for our officers and for our communications centre staff."

Russell says Victoria police have had to deal with 828 accidental calls to 911 in the past six weeks.