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.

Twice, to report a drink driver and to report someone breaking into a neighbours car in the middle of the night. The car thief was arrested, not sure if they got the drunk driver.

Following a very obviously drunk driver. They asked me to keep following them so that the police officer could find them.

I’ve also called through work when I had a genuine concern for the welfare of a client and their suicidal thoughts.

When we found a man who had been assaulted lying in the street; we did CPR but he died before the ambulance came.

When I woke up at 2am and my 12 year old had disappeared.

The OP is asking when and what posters have phoned 999 for the police emergency response. 101 is for non urgent.

I've reported my youngest missing (we got her back safe and well). A neighbour being broken into. Dangerous anti social behaviour. My DH during cancerous brain tumours and psychotic episodes.

Had a car and caravan flip over in front of us on the M5. Called the police- it was across all 3 lanes and other drivers were still trying to get past at 70mph! Nobody was hurt and luckily the police were there within minutes.
My daughter has called the police 3 times, once when a couple of lads on bikes were smashing the windows on her car with a hammer- no police turned up, she got a call off them 4 days later- and twice to a bloke living opposite who had something against her and threatened her! She's only 21! Police had a severe word with him and he's kept his mouth shut since...

Called an ambulance for a friends flatmate who was pregnant and was bleeding quite badly. Sadly she lost the baby.

Similar - although it was a massive pile of dumped tyres, on a NSL pitch-black country road that I knew boy racers frequented. The selfishness of some people astounds me.

Never IRL but probably hundreds of times for work, shoplifting, assault and burglary

I've called 101 for kids riding dirt bikes around in the local nature reserve in the early hours.
Also when our house seemed to be getting cases for burglary.

I've called 999 when I thought someone was being attacked by a dog.

Called 999 for a car which was veering all over the road and pavement. I narrowly avoided being run over. Four other people had seen the same car within the space of a few minutes and also called. Was asked to go to the police station to make a statement. The driver was charged and convicted of drink driving.

Pre 101 I called the local police station twice, once to report indecent exposure and the second time to report a road rage incident I witnessed.

I've called while driving for someone who had road rage and was trying to make me crash

999 a few times. Someone smashed our front door in one night. Totally random, by the time we got downstairs they were gone. Another time a man fell asleep at the wheel of his car and crashed it right outside our house. Also an ex partner of our neighbour was shouting and banging on her door in the middle of the night. She wasn't replying to our calls or messages to check she was OK. Police always came quickly and were polite and helpful.
Used 101 when dh was pick pocketed and when ds had his phone stolen. Wasn't expecting them to do anything but you need a crime number for insurance. With ds phone he knew who took it and turns out the kid was well known to various services, including police who were already building cases against him. Didn't benefit us in anyway but maybe the information ds gave about him was helpful.

Driving along a dual carriageway and something was completely blocking one lane, it was metal with spikes across and bits sticking up and quite low to the road so you wouldn't see it until you were close. We were near an industrial area so presumed it had fallen off a works vehicle.

1. group of young adults drinking vodka, smashing bottles and DRIVING their cars erratically around a carpark near my house
2. active burglary (I was watching a man break into a neighbours house) - this resulted in a high speed police chase and the helicopter being called out. I was very worried I had gotten it wrong and wasted a load of resources 😅
3. woman walking down the hard shoulder of the motorway - she looked to be Eastern European, was wearing traditional looking clothes and a headscarf (I often think about her and hope she is ok)
4. Man passed out and bleeding on a busy high street, I was the only one to stop and help 🙄
5. a car caught on fire in the carpark of a small block of retirement flats at the back of my house
6. woman screaming help etc at 2am, sounds of a struggle with a man (couldn’t see anything but it was loud enough to wake me from my sleep)
7. when my own house was burgled - I probably should of called none emergency, but I was in shock after waking up and finding we had been broken into and our cars etc where missing

I seem to be in the wrong places at all the right times 🫣

Once in my mid-20s for what I think was probably a student house party gone wrong — huge crowd of people drinking on the pavement in the dark, and running into and across the road and letting fireworks off. I was sure somebody was going to get hurt.

Once when the house alarm went off and there had been a recent spate of burglaries. Somebody had tried to break in, but was scared off by the alarm. They tracked them with a police dog, didn't catch anybody, but did a few weeks later with the same dog. So I like to think I provided some scent training!

Drove past a massive bloke throwing a tiny woman into a fence late at night. Pulled up in case she needed help but he approached aggressively and punched the window where my daughter was sitting.

Phoned 999, turned around and parked up where my dashcam could capture what was happening while waiting for police. Gave statements and dashcam footage the next day. She didn’t want to press charges but it went all the way to court and we attended as witnesses. He got quite a hefty sentence in terms of community services and fine and had to attend anger management. He was an ex-copper………

When our neighbour’s violent ex was banging on her door threatening her (they didn’t come as they were “too busy” 🤬)

When some youths were breaking into a local school’s bike storage

A couple of times for dangerous road obstructions (large chunks of metal etc) on motorways

Once, when I saw some youths attacking an older man with a plank of wood outside my house.

Once when I saw a man hanging from a bridge over a very busy motorway.

I called 999 for an ambulance once when someone was run over. Called the non emergency number a couple of times to report that I was followed by strange men.

The times I’ve called 999 for police are:

• an intruder hiding in my garden
• a time when I was sexually assaulted in the street
• an outbreak of serious violence in a pub I worked in
• someone breaking into my next door neighbour’s house
• a racist attack on a man on a train

We also witnessed a nasty car accident on a country road (happened right in front of us) a couple of years ago but it was DP who called 999 for police and ambulance while I was helping one of the injured drivers.

I’ve called ambulances a few times as well.

I have multiple times when my child has made suicide attempts 😢

Also for DV in the past.

I’ve called 000 a few times since we’ve been here (Australia) never called 999 when I was in the uk.

There’s been road accidents usually vehicle vs kangaroo (which will completely destroy your car) in dangerous spots on rural roads.

Lots of calls for cows on the road or flood water blocking roads.

Once for a welfare check on a neighbours toddler, he was removed by social services for neglect.

The craziest time was when the local farmer was firing a cannon in the field behind our house. He was a bit eccentric and didn’t see an issue with it - the police disagreed! We hadn’t been in that house long but he obviously did it regularly as his livestock wasn’t bothered at all.

We did have one attempted break in on NYE but our dog bit them and they ran - it was a small village and pretty much everyone was watching the fireworks, luckily the police were at the end of the road and caught them as they ran. The torn trousers and blood gave away that it was them.

Thought neighbour was being burgled. Turned out they were just really, really messy and looking through their stuff for something at midnight!

I seem to call all the time.

1. A local man with known MH issues was trying to put a chair through a window of my workplace
2. The same man walked into my workplace and started verbally assaulting customers. Would not leave. (This man would always come and apologise when in remission but was impossible to reason with when in relapse)
3. Reported to 101 a group of teenagers who were smoking weed every night on a bench outside our building.
4. Witnessed a school boy being beaten up be older teenagers outside my allotment. Got the boy behind the allotment fence and called the police.
5. Witnessed three men outside my house threatening a neighbour with a knife
6. Witnessed drunk fight on my street where one of the men was threatening to knife the other.

We have since moved from this area. My partner tells me off every time I call the police. He thinks I should mind my own business. I disagree.

Years ago called (I think 999) when I saw teens vandalising a public building. No police came....

A couple of years ago someone stole my bag on the beach. After I got it back (with cash and cards missing) I reported it to the police. They took details. I never heard from them again. I wasn't surprised.

I guess I should be glad I've never had a more pressing emergency.