Man calls 999 - for help rescuing his iPhone (From Thisisdorset)
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Man calls 999 - for help rescuing his iPhone
9:22am Tuesday 9th October 2012 in Latest By Juliette Astrup
Man calls 999 - for help rescuing his iPhone
COASTGUARDS have urged people to use their common sense before calling after a man rang 999 – because he’d dropped his iPhone at the seaside.
The caller contacted Portland Coastguard on the emergency line after his phone slipped between rocks on a groyne on Sandbanks Beach in Poole.
Incredibly he expected assistance from the lifesaving emergency service to retrieve it.
Watch assistant Steve George took the call just after 1.30pm on Sunday.
He told the Echo: “The call came in on the triple nine line so red lights flashed around the room and we were all braced and prepared for an emergency.
“The man gave his position and said he was on the beach with the groyne in front of him.
I was waiting to hear if he had his arm or his leg stuck or something like that – but it turned out the iPhone had gone down in between the rocks and he required assistance to retrieve it.
“There was a short pause and politely I informed him that we wouldn’t be able to help.”
He added: “We are an emergency service to help the public when lives are at risk.
“We were sat waiting, ready to send out the lifeboats or the helicopter, and it was just a chap who’d lost his phone.”
He said the caller had him on the phone for several minutes and he was typing up a log of the call until the nature of the request became clear.
He added: “If there had been a genuine emergency that would have taken it away from it.
“People have got to think like that – it may be serious to them – but there may be a real emergency happening.”
He added: “Luckily we don’t get calls of that nature very often.”
He still urged people to call the coastguard if they felt something was wrong, adding: “We’re always here to help.
“We don’t want people to be put off calling, but we would ask them to use their common sense and have some consideration.”
The coastguard and his colleagues recalled a handful of similar such 999 calls they’d received in the past including a man who wanted to know if hair removal cream was good for a jellyfish stings, and a caller who rang from inland after a bird got stuck in some chicken wire –and explained he’d rung the coastguard because it was a seagull.
AMBULANCE chiefs are also urging the public to think carefully before dialling after a recent rise in 999 calls.
The South West Ambulance Service has called for people to make sure they are using the right NHS service in a bid to cut the number of non-emergency calls it receives.
A spokesman said: “The ambulance service should only be used for emergency situations.
“Examples include choking, chest pain, stroke, serious blood loss and unconsciousness.
“Using the ambulance service only to tend to the critically ill and injured helps ensure a quick response to those in genuine need.”
The trust is highlighting its message of “Right Care at the Right Time in the Right Place” by flagging up alternative healthcare options for less serious conditions including minor injuries units and NHS walk-in centres, GPs, pharmacies and NHS direct.
The message is also being reiterated with the wider Choose Well campaign across the NHS urging people to choose the most appropriate NHS service to their needs.
For more information visit choosewell.org.uk
Comments(22)
BarrHumbug
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10:01am Tue 9 Oct 12
hamworthygirl
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10:02am Tue 9 Oct 12
Nickolai
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10:08am Tue 9 Oct 12
Dismal.
rudolph_hucker
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10:10am Tue 9 Oct 12
JERK
swan
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10:45am Tue 9 Oct 12
djd
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10:53am Tue 9 Oct 12
Where has common sense gone.
He probably phones for an ambulance when he stubs his toe.
Perhaps a monetory penalty for these idiots may make others think before they call.
The Renegade Master
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10:55am Tue 9 Oct 12
uvox44
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11:14am Tue 9 Oct 12
Capricorn 1
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11:35am Tue 9 Oct 12
Nickolai
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11:36am Tue 9 Oct 12
uvox44 wrote:Totally agree .
maybe it's time to end the cult of mobile phone worship - they are a small box of electronics after all- try talking to the person next to you instead of texting , concentrate on the road instead of fiddling with your phone, still these days life seems all fashion statement and no substance amongst some sheep , ooops meant people .....
BarrHumbug
says...
11:37am Tue 9 Oct 12
uvox44 wrote:that's not the real price though- the real price is the suffering of highly intelligent animals just to feed our totally unnecessary and unhealthy appetite for meat, meat-bad for your health, bad for the environment, bad for the animals you eat, a real lose-lose industry.
maybe it's time to end the cult of mobile phone worship - they are a small box of electronics after all- try talking to the person next to you instead of texting , concentrate on the road instead of fiddling with your phone, still these days life seems all fashion statement and no substance amongst some sheep , ooops meant people .....
Mr N James
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12:30pm Tue 9 Oct 12
scrumpyjack
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12:36pm Tue 9 Oct 12
BarrHumbug wrote:You still going on about this?
uvox44 wrote:that's not the real price though- the real price is the suffering of highly intelligent animals just to feed our totally unnecessary and unhealthy appetite for meat, meat-bad for your health, bad for the environment, bad for the animals you eat, a real lose-lose industry.
maybe it's time to end the cult of mobile phone worship - they are a small box of electronics after all- try talking to the person next to you instead of texting , concentrate on the road instead of fiddling with your phone, still these days life seems all fashion statement and no substance amongst some sheep , ooops meant people .....
It was boring enough first time around and certainly has no place on a thread about 999 calls.
BarrHumbug
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12:44pm Tue 9 Oct 12
scrumpyjack wrote:That's the point I was making the first time around?
BarrHumbug wrote:You still going on about this?
uvox44 wrote:that's not the real price though- the real price is the suffering of highly intelligent animals just to feed our totally unnecessary and unhealthy appetite for meat, meat-bad for your health, bad for the environment, bad for the animals you eat, a real lose-lose industry.
maybe it's time to end the cult of mobile phone worship - they are a small box of electronics after all- try talking to the person next to you instead of texting , concentrate on the road instead of fiddling with your phone, still these days life seems all fashion statement and no substance amongst some sheep , ooops meant people .....
It was boring enough first time around and certainly has no place on a thread about 999 calls.
Mr N James
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12:58pm Tue 9 Oct 12
The PM
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2:08pm Tue 9 Oct 12
He really should learn to Manage his phone better than this, although keeping your phone dry can be a daunting Project in itself....
SeafaringMan
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4:20pm Tue 9 Oct 12
Mr N James wrote:With the classic Echo folded arms of course!
Why cant the police name & shame these TW**S that do this sort of thing.Put a picture of them up.
EGHH
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4:39pm Tue 9 Oct 12
mattkuk
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5:03pm Tue 9 Oct 12
thevisitor
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7:26pm Tue 9 Oct 12
funkyferret
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7:57pm Tue 9 Oct 12
It speaks volumes for how a person values the emergency services over their personal possessions & what sort of a person the typical iphone user is.
sent from my iphone
Morrigan says...
9:34am Tue 9 Oct 12