This post is being typed because I feel so frustrated at what happened {or didn't happen} that I have to get it off my chest.
I have only found myself needing to dial 999 about 4 times in my entire life. The latest one was about a month ago now, It was one of those very hot sunny days, I was upstairs with the windows wide open and could hear a {young} couple approaching having a "slanging" match on the opposite side of the road, she was obviously trying to get away from him and he was barring her path, after about 5 minutes of this she went back down the road with him still arguing but not with the same gusto and all went quiet for about an hour.
Then all hell broke loose, a full on argument started {and this was in the next street} in fact the whole estate must have heard it. She wasn't shouting she was screaming at the top of her lungs {I knew it was the same couple even if I couldn't see them} her screams were terrifying so.......I dialled 999 and got through to the police control room.
I told the lady on the other end what had transpired prior to me ringing and I impressed upon her the need for urgency as the screams were dreadful, as I put it " It sounds like she is being murdered" and that was NO exaggeration, and I believe that was my fatal mistake because all the way through the phone conversation I got the distinct impression she wasn't taking the situation as seriously as I was. Quite obviously these people manning the phones are used to people ringing in in a panic and possibly over exaggerating the situation, but no matter how I tried to convince her I wasn't an hysterical loon she down played it so much I was beginning to doubt my own judgement on the issue. At one point the screams were so loud I said "Listen for yourself" and I stuck my phone out of the window so she could hear for herself, all I could get out of her was "I can't hear anything...What is she saying..What is she saying??" and all I could reply was "She's not saying ANYTHING she's screaming for her life".
I may as well have just rung up and asked what the time was.
The upshot of it was a police car turned up a good 30 minutes later and parked on the end of the other street for about 40 minutes then went. Whether they went asking questions or not I'm not sure.
So I'm sorry to say {unless it's my immediate family} the next time I find myself in a similar situation I will think twice.