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.

Quite a bit. The ones I can remember:

Local Police Station (we don't have 101 here)
The local drunk smashing in his windows
The local drunk shouting abuse and threatening to kill a neighbour
The crazy woman over the road (also drunk, but has other issues) had another fight with her husband, came out the house with a massive kitchen knife and slashed all his tyres and wad waving it around
The woman above, same scenario but this time smashing his windows with her walking stick.
Idiot joyriders in the carpark behind my house. Multiple times.

In 1, they said they'd send someone, no idea if they did
In 2, they took well over an hour to show
In 3 and 4, they straight up said she was known to them and they weren't sending anyone. Young kids lived next door at the time. They moved. Can't blame them. (Side note, 2 coppers were at the house a couple days ago)
In 5 they say they'll send someone when they have someone

999
Ambulance a few times for my mam
Fire a couple times
Police (and other services - had several of each) when a stupid woman tried to dodge 3 lanes of 50mph traffic and went through my windscreen despite my best efforts to avoid her

23 times for DS who has ADHD and can be aggressive. We were advised to do so by the police, social services, the family worker we eventually had and also an ADHD parenting coach we work with.
We are having a period of relative calm at the moment which is partly due to us having learned more skills and partly we feel due to him having been quite seriously ill last month and not being quite himself.

Scruffers lamping in our field.

Boy racers racing and filming themselves doing donuts etc on the country lane.

Man walking up hard shoulder of motorway.

Children playing chicken on the motorway.

When my 9yr old dd didn't come home from school. I had driven round, rang friends etc and was seriously worried where she had got to. It was about 5pm when I rang them.

When I was spun and pushed up the motorway by a HGV.

When I saw a man heading up the slip road on to the wrong side of a dual carriageway.

When we had the grass fires the other year and I could smell smoke in the house late at night. I searched all over but could not find the source.

When my dh lit a fire in a brazier and went out. Next thing I see is the brazier tipped over and the fire was rapidly approaching my horses stable. I was torn whether to fight the fire or rescue the horse. I rescued the horse and rand the fire brigade 😅

Seems like I'm a serial 999 caller 🤔😳

I rang them when my late exh went for me and2 of my 4 children with a knife. This was 23 years ago. They sent 2 men. They would not help me and my children and I had to leave our jointly tenanted house. I ended up homeless and eventually got a HA home but it took a long time. 6 months after the event, he launched himself at my car outside school as I was dropping off my DD5. I drove away terrified and 2 lovely women drove behind me. They rang the police once we'd parked up, and by the time they got there he was hammering on my car roof and windows screaming at me. They still did nothing. Just told him to go home. He then stole my car. They did nothing. I found it and got it back. Ditto phone.
I do hope things have improved for victims of DV.

I dialled 999 for the police when kids were climbing down an embankment next to a bridge onto a dual carriageway below and playing chicken with the traffic.

I'm not sure what happened as I had had to drive on to the next lay-by to get my phone out.

Called the police once on family member who was drunk and violent. It was unfortunate a regular occurrence during my childhood through to my late teens, but that was the only time I actually made the call.

Called ambulances numerous times for a different family member when they were unconscious/ non responsive.

Called an ambulance for a man I found unconscious out on the road when I lived in city centre.

Called the police when my ex disappeared with our daughter, he was supposed to return her at a certain time but just messaged to say he was lost in a national park and would not be able to bring her back. So I called the police to report a lost child (and her father) and funnily enough he became unlost soon after that.

Also called 112 several times to speak to emergency social services (they're part of the emergency services in my country, and you contact them via the same number as all the other services) about more incidents with my ex and our daughter.

Called an ambulance twice for my son, first time did not feel like an ambulance situation but when I called the health centre first to ask if I should bring him to be checked out after a fall they insisted I call an ambulance instead. Second time was a first febrile seizure and had to be taken in.

A man was wandering on and off the road. He was a danger to traffic. Can picture him as I write, even though over 25 years ago.

Never called 999 for police but did for fire brigade once when there was a van on fire down the end of our street!

cryinglaughing · Today 15:14 "Scruffers lamping in our field."

Well, I've Googled 'lamping', but what are 'scruffers'?

Forgot, I have called 999 for the police when I was younger and got home and the house had been broken in to - I was alone so worried about going in in case someone was still in there. The operator was lovely on the phone and stayed on with me while I walked around making sure it was safe, then they sent police out.

I assume if you've been mugged to get something back on insurance you need to call the police to get a crime reference number?

Once because i heard screaming coming from a house and once because i saw a child walking alone in the pouring rain on a school day on a very long ‘country road’

ive been with people when they have rung the police over a fire on the recreation ground (with kids) and what looked like a fight in the village centre

people on the estate rang the police numerous times because there were teenagers in the play area late at night, they weren’t doing anything but they were there 😒 think very big houses facing the play area

@CustardySergeant scruffers is a term used in our area for not very nice people.

ExH hit me.
Witnessed car accident.

Also after a burglary in my home.

Phoned for a garage across the road from my house being on fire, friend having Anaphylactic shock and work colleague having a heart attack.

You called the police for those?

the first needed a fire engine and the others needed ambulances………

I have several times.

• Someone collapsed in the town centre.

• Witnessed a car accident x2

• For someone injured at a sports class.

• Bicyclist hit by car (thankfully ok)

• Drove past a car that had gone off the side of the A9.

Also years ago called because my neighbours were having a huge fight throwing furniture down the close stairs.

I never have but dh has twice. Once when I was miscarrying, he called the gynae ward as we had been told to do it anything happened and they said to call an ambulance. Then 3 years later someone crashed their car outside our house so he called the ambulance and the police.

Sadly, when I found my brother dead 😞

Yes. 20 years ago when DH was assaulted outside our house by a group of young men. The ringleader punched him to the face and another one threw a bottle at him. DH lost 3 teeth and suffered a blackened eye and fractured cheekbone. The police found the ringleader on the street, we ID’d him, there was a trial and he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in a YOI (he was only 19). Within months of being released he killed someone (manslaughter). He is free again now and has returned to the city where we live. We often still think about it.

After my manipulative ex convinced me to meet for a coffee 'as friends' to talk things through. He turned on the waterworks and by the time I was getting the bus away from the cafe he was walking out in front of traffic on the phone to me telling me if I cared about him I'd get off the bus.

I stayed on the bus and rang the police, surprise surprise 20 minutes later they had knocked on his door (I gave the address) and he was at home. So clearly as soon as the bus was out of sight he'd gone home.

Wanker.

I called once when someone was actively trying to break into my home

The second time it was for a large dog locked inside a vehicle ( windows down just an inch) on a 32 degree day