Police come to the rescue… eventually.

A Dalkeith schoolteacher was left bemoaning the sluggishness of the Scottish emergency services after she had to wait a quarter of an hour for a patrol car to arrive at her home… despite living next door to the police station.

Jennifer Phibbs, a 63-year-old teacher, called the cops after a prowler snuck in the back door of her house in Dalkieth, Midlothian. She had initially found the man skulking around inside but successfully manhandled him out of the back door, though he refused to budge and continued lurking outside until the rozzers finally arrived a quarter of an hour later.

An uninvited guest

Phibbs had been preparing lesson plans for the next day’s schooling when the intruder entered her home through the back door, which she had left unlocked for her partner who had forgotten his keys.

“I entered the hallway to see a man I had never seen in my life before – coming towards me,” she explained. “I was absolutely terrified and shouted at him to get out while pushing him towards the back door. I managed to push him out of the back door and lock it.”

However, the would-be burglar didn’t give up hope and waited in her garden for a second chance to gain access to the house. In the meantime, Phibbs called the local police force – with whom she shares a garden wall – but instead of dispatching units from the neighbouring building, officers from Loanhead station three miles away answered the call. It took them 15 nerve-wracking minutes to arrive on the scene.

Proximity no guarantee of punctuality

Phibbs was understandably frustrated by the amount of time it took the Old Bill to respond to her distress call and lamented the slipping standards within the local force.

“I could have put my head out of the window and shouted for help from the police station,” she said. “You used to be able to rely on local policing, but not anymore. I kept seeing officers leaving Dalkeith in their cars and prayed the next one would be for me, but it never appeared.”Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download

For their part, Police Scotland have defended their actions and claimed that they responded in as timely a manner as possible.

“The call was given a high priority and the nearest available resources were dispatched to attend,” a spokeswoman for the body explained. “A 51-year-old man was subsequently charged under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 and a report was submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

Home security is paramount, no matter where you live

This story just goes to show that it’s important to maintain a high level of security around your home, regardless of where you live. If a neighbouring police station isn’t going to put off an opportunistic thief, what is? Well, a state-of-the-art intruder alarm, CCTV cameras and an access control system might just do the trick.

To find out more about how to safeguard your home or business property, get in touch with Blackburn Alarms today.