I called the police and I feel like a tit now

[Kulio]

I'm not even sure why I'm posting but I'm still shook up and I need to get this out of my head.

I live with my 2 young boys. Both of them fast asleep in bed about an hour ago. I was in bed messing about on my phone. DS1 bedroom is above the kitchen. My bedroom is at the front of the house.

Clear as day I heard the sound of window being smashed. It sounded like MY kitchen window. It woke DS1 up too. I went into his room to check out of his window which is directly above the kitchen. I had my phone in my hand and in my panic I called the police.

I was on the phone to operator, I was totally shaking and trembling. DS1 was frightened and crying. Operator tells me to check the house. I was still shaking like a leaf at this point but I went downstairs and my kitchen window is fine. All the windows are fine. I checked my shed as it has large windows. All fine. I checked my car (parked at the front of the house). No problems there. Police operator takes my details and tells me to lock all windows and doors and to call back if anything else happens. They can't send anyone out as it looks like there is nothing to inspect.

After I hung up the call, I went out again to check the neighbours houses and again, nothing.

I looked out of DS1 bedroom window again to check NDNs conservatory (neighbour lives alone and she is out at the mo). Nothing.

Ds1 had climbed into my bed by this point and Ds2 had also woken up and got in my bed too. I had to calm eldest down as he was still frightened. He said it sounded like the kitchen window so I told him I'd checked and it wasnt.

What on earth was it? It took a while for me to get kids back to sleep. Theres no evidence of any of the houses on this street being broken into. But it was so loud and crystal clear I was convinced my kitchen window had been broken in to. So loud it woke ds1 up! What the hell was it???

I did apologise to the police operator as I felt like I was wasting their time, but being a single parent I cacked my pants and when I called them I was upstairs with no idea if someone had broken in or not. I panicked. I can still hear the sound of the glass breaking replaying in my head.

I dont know why I posted this, I'm still shaking.

Maybe someone walking past smashed a bottle or glass on the ground?

Awww, OP, don't feel silly. That's what 999 is for! Gosh, my heart was pounding just reading that! You are so brave going down to investigate....I would have been too scared to.

But what on earth was the noise?! I've had things like that before, where a noise was so loud but you check and everything is fine and normal

Oh that must have been really frightening op. Do you have a close neighbour you can text, see if they heard anything? Could it have been teens dropping a bottle or something outside maybe?

Hope you're okay, I'd shit myself too. Probably someone smashing a bottle nearby.

Don't worry about it.

Bottle/ could be someone breaking into a car. It's not your house so don't worry

I've got a long back garden and it sounded too close to be someone on the street at the back of the house.

Either way it's shaken me up and I just need to vent as my adrenaline is still pumping. I feel like a dick for wasting police time on a call. Don't think I'll sleep much tonight though.

Oops meant

Sound carries so much more at night, that’s probably why it seemed so close. You did the right thing calling 999.

Or perhaps you have glass recycling boxes in your street that someone threw something in on their way back from a night out?

The sound of someone throwing an empty wine bottle into the bin? They do sometimes smash, especially if there are a few other empty bottles in there

Oh OP, I hope you're OK. Don't feel bad about ringing 999, trust me people have rung for much less!

Something similar happened to me. One of the panes of our bathroom window randomly cracked itself one night. I was convinced something had been thrown at it, but it was at the back of the house and would have been impossible for someone to throw something without me seeing them. It was double glazing and it was the inside pane that cracked, rather than the exterior one.

I'm just thankful it's nothing to worry about. Thank you all for the kind replies, its helpful to talk about it as I'm the only adult in the house. You're all so kind.

Gonna watch a bit of gavin and stacey on iplayer with a brew to take my mind of it. I feel like a drama queen now 😂 the shakes are subsiding.

You definitely did the right thing, sounds really scary. It might become apparent in the morning what it was, if there was nothing obvious, maybe a pane in someone's greenhouse getting broken or a bottle being thrown xx

Don’t worry Op I once rang 999 in a huge panic unable to find DD, she was in my bed 🤦‍♀️

Could it have been someone emptying glasses into a recycling bin? I had a neighbour who used to do that at 11pm after a drinking session.

poor you.
don't feel bad about calling it in.
it wasn't a prank call, you did think you were in potential danger!!!
I would've done the same.

maybe leave a few lights on tonight?
sending you big, calming bear hugs

Aww bless you Opps 😂 I bet you were terrified for a while.

It could have been recycling but I checked out the upstairs back window as soon as I heard it and there was nobody around at all. If it was just me that heard it I would question my sanity but it woke ds1 up and he's a heavy sleeper.

I'm a lot calmer now. I promise 99% of the time I'm a rational human being 🙈

Have you checked inside your cupboards in case anything has smashed/collapsed. The entire contents of my hall cupboard once collapsed in the middle of the night. I nearly died of heart failure

@OppsUpsSide

Don’t worry Op I once rang 999 in a huge panic unable to find DD, she was in my bed 🤦‍♀️

I had this one night. Got up for a pee about 3am. Went into to my DS (10) room as his door was ajar, it's usually closed, he wasn't in bed. He'd been sick so went to check the living room kitchen, not there. By this time I was really worried. Checked the bathrooms, under his bed, the living room and bathrooms again. I was frantic by this point. Quickly pulled clothes on, woke up DP, crying and shaking, saying HES GONE HES NOT HERE. He got bolt upright and started to pull his clothes on to. Then he stopped and looked at me, and said - he's at his dads overnight. I never slept a fucking wink that night after that. I've never been so scared in my entire life. Poor DP was so nice to me. He got the fright of his life too!

@Kulio
I promise 99% of the time I'm a rational human being

same!
will it help if I tell you that I saw a massive black chicken the other evening at the far end of the garden and it scared the shit out of me?

until I realised it was the reflection of the tiny chicken blackboard I have in the kitchen 🙈

HelpMeh - yeah, as a sanity check I look in the cupboard to see if a glass has fallen and broken. All my glasses are in tact.

A roof tile wouldn't have fallen off and smashed outside?

Hahaha that's brilliant Zing!! 😂😂😂 I like it when there's a logical explanation at the end.

rjacks- that sounds horrendous. I'm glad your son was safe.

I hear a smash one night, checked the cctv and nothing was about at all. Turned out a picture had fallen off a wall downstairs and the glass has broken. Didn’t find it for about a week as it fell behind a cupboard and I only found out when I realised it had gone and the nail was missing with some blown plaster. I had been scratching my head to that point wondering what it could’ve been.