To ask why you've phoned the police?

[oneskip]

It's given as advice on here all the time but who has ever dialled 999 and was it for something major?

I've called for football fans fighting and letting off flares at cars, so genuine emergency.

I'd say I average about once a week for a concern for welfare/risk to life. Sometimes less frequent, sometimes more. Think the most is 4 times in a day. Work related obviously.

999 when the neighbour above us was beating his wife twice. Whilst I was on the phone to them on the first occasion, her screaming stopped and I could hear their 5 year old begging him to "leave mummy alone". Was heartbreaking. We had just moved in for a new University year but it turned out the Police were already aware of his behaviour. They came fast.

101 when I mislaid one of our Homeless service users. Couldn't get hold of them at all. Left messages, put notes through the door of their temporary accomodation etc, nothing. So we used our keys...blood on the bed and floor, every cupboard pulled out. Place looked ransacked. Management wanted to just change the locks...I called the police.

Someone called 999 on me once. I was walking home from a party via a large Scottish road bridge around 2am one night somewhat drunk. Stopped to look over the side (for some reason probably relating to the alcohol I had consumed I was on the road part) and next thing I know some policemen gave me the fright of my life when they grabbed me. I pretty much went from drunk to stone cold sober and shaking in a heartbeat. Apparently a passing motorist going the other way had thought I was trying to commit suicide and phoned them. The fact that I was barefoot hadn't helped.

I also phoned the transport police once when some rugby supporters on the train were singing a song about lynching.

I called them for two girls aged about 7 and 9 sitting on the crash barrier of the m5 watching the cars go by. They had obviously walked over nearby fields to get there as there wasn’t a broken down car/adult in sight.

I’ve also phoned the police for a man on a pushbike cycling the wrong way on the M32 (this motorway with a restriction of 40mph in places, so guess he got confused)

Called them once when my neighbour was beating the living daylights out of his wife. They came, took him away. 10 minutes later she's out in the street with a knife screaming for whoever called the police to come outside. Slashed all the tyres on 6 cars in the street before the police came back and took her in as well.

Saw an accident on motorway, on a filthy wet night. Had to explain to the police where we were and what had happened. Terrifying to be standing on the hard shoulder as cars thunder by so close, has given me a new appreciation of why the emergency services shut a road. The woman passenger survived, sadly her husband didn’t.

Another time called an ambulance when I found someone unconscious at the side of the road. A sign had fallen off a shop so there was a possibility it had hit the man. I think that was ruled out and he was just very drunk.

In my early 20s my house phone malfunctioned and kept connecting to the emergency services line. It did it 2-3 times so I had to convince them I was ok and not in need of help. The phone had to be replaced.

I’ve called often.
A young woman (early 20s?) was sat on the floor with no shoes on crying, it wasn’t until I was further away that I realised I should have asked if she was ok. I called the police and they did a check. Apparently she had won a significant amount of money at bingo and was happy!

more recently, a group of kids were trying to set fire to the play equipment at the park I walk my dog.

2 men were attacking 1 man, I saw from my bedroom window. Looked drug related but I still called.

A car was driving up and down the streets (I live in rows of terraced houses) that had clearly been in a crash as the bumper was hanging off.

Pol presence has gone up where I live and I believe it’s because people are reporting more things. They can’t help and do anything about things if they don’t know. Twice a day I see them walking/riding around the area. And that’s just what I see.

But why not 999 for the ambulance? Why call the police?

Couple of teenagers set fire to my neighbours fence. Luckily I saw them and was able to put it out quickly as had a pan of water from cooking dinner. I rang 111 as I was worried that it could have been targeted and they'd come back. 111 told me off and said that I should have rang 999 and also interrogated me about whether the teenagers were black. The 999 response officers arrived and gave me a telling off for wasting their time. Neighbours were annoyed that the police interrupted their dinner. No good deed goes unpunished as they say 🤷

About 2am in the morning some bloke shouting harassment at my neighbour across the road from the street up to her window. Her older teenage son shouting back and both men threatening each other with violence, rang police then on 999 to report - car was already on the way as someone else on street had already rang.

So sorry you have been through all of this

Have had to call a few times: as a child when a relative collapsed suddenly and as an adult when witnessing a road traffic accident or a serious assuakt

When an elderly neighbour wasn't answering her door and she had left the key in the door and no windows opened, nor was she making any noise. I couldn't get in to check on her. Police came under a welfare check and got in, luckily as she'd had a fall.

@StMarieforme thanks

I called for debris in a live lane on the motorway that had the ability to cause a big incident. And a pedestrian walking a long way on the hard shoulder to collect something that had fallen off a car. My guess is they would have just sent a highway patrol rather than police but I saw they updated the gantries pretty quick.

And I've called them for concern for welfare a couple of times.

Called police after walking past what looked like a couple having a domestic, but on closer inspection he appeared high on something, was blocking her car in and she had a baby in her arms, trying to get away. Could have been nothing but I could just feel the malevolence coming off this guy and she looked terrified.
No idea if the outcome, left it for the police to deal with.

Neighbours next door sounded like domestic initially, then all hell broke loose smashing things etc.
Police came and calmed everything down.
They moved shortly after

Called 999 when our very elderly neighbour had a fall in the middle of the night. I could hear her calling for help through the wall but had no spare key to go and help/sit with her to wait for an ambulance. Also called 101 to report a drunk/high driver. Police could not have been less interested even though I probably should have called 999. Next time I saw a clearly drunk/high driver on the M25 I didn’t bother and I do regret that.

Called them for a brawl outside a pub where a guy's shirt went from white to red with blood.

And multiple occasions for car crashes at the junction outside my house.

A very young woman was in the street acting strangely, drugs I think. It was late and dark. I phoned 999, they told me to leave and they would send someone. I waited and watched from the car. Police were there in about 2 minutes. They were really kind to the woman and took her home or to hospital.

I've called after I witnessed an accident on the road on my way home, with the car flipping over.

I called when my late husband twice threatened to kill me.

Police were bloody brilliant both times.

I did when we drove over a motorway bridge and saw a people carrier type vehicle at a standstill in the fast lane of the motorway. I actually apologised for ringing, madness!

I did when we drove over a motorway bridge and saw a people carrier type vehicle at a standstill in the fast lane of the motorway. I actually apologised for ringing, madness!

I called when someone was trying to break into my flat at 2am when I was home alone.

You don’t say which service.

Police:

Finding what appeared to be an unconscious bloke in my garden behind my bins shortly after a police helicopter had been out!

Teenage lads fighting in the street following a house party a few doors down.

When my youngest’s dad assaulted me whilst pregnant.

When the neighbours across the way were having a domestic so bad I could hear the kids screaming from inside my house (kids were taken into care).

When a pissed bloke was kicking off at a house across the road, trying to kick the door down, screaming abuse and harassing every person that passed by including kids for a prolonged period of time (it was a regular occurrence police turning up for him eventually they stopped coming out!)

I’ve called 101 a few times for vehicles that look potentially stolen / dumped.

Ambulance:

Driving home and spotted someone lay on the floor and everyone just driving by, he was in mental health crisis and had a seizure whilst I was talking to him. Phoned an ambulance and his family.

Another bloke I found on the floor when out walking my dog, he was bereaved and pissed and had fallen over and hurt himself and claimed he physically couldn’t get up and was in pain. Ambulance gave an estimated wait of 4 hours so I sat with him to wait, not long after I spotted and flagged down a police car and they cancelled the ambulance and helped me get him up and home, he lived literally 200 yards away!