British Police took SIX DAYS to respond to a 999 call made by terrified homeowners who found gang of men raiding their home

Red-faced police chiefs have made a grovelling apology to the victims of a burglary after officers took six days to respond to their terrified 999 call.

The victims, who have asked not to be named, returned to their home, in Thurrock, Essex, to find a 4x4 car in their drive and a gang of men raiding their house.

When the husband and wife confronted the men, one claimed to be cleaning their block paving.

But as the quick-thinking couple called police, the gang ploughed their vehicle through the garden wall and made a quick getaway.

But despite the seriousness of the situation, police failed to send an officer to visit the couple until a full six days later.

The homeowners are now demanding answers from Essex Police after they were left to deal with the aftermath of the terrifying incident alone.

The husband said: 'It's not good enough. The police showed up six days after we called them. 'The officer was very good but I felt dreadful for him - while he was with us he was called to a possible jumper off a bridge over the A13.'

A spokesperson for Essex Police confirmed they are now investigating the embarrassing incident which happened on Friday, February 22. A statement read: 'Essex Police are looking into the background of this case but it would appear that the caller did not receive the response that they should have and we wish to apologise for that.

'In this particular case it would appear the call was not given the correct priority and officers should have responded on the day.

'We will examine how this happened to see if there are any lessons that can be learnt to prevent it from happening again. In the meantime we would like to reassure people that the investigation into the offence is on-going and officers are continuing enquiries to find the offenders.

'The Thurrock area is covered by a number of different policing teams including Neighbourhood Crime Teams, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Response and Patrol vehicles and the Criminal Investigation Department as part of the Force's borderless policing concept.

'This means we have a variety of resources available and will always look to send the nearest appropriate officer to a report of a crime.'


Original report here




(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here