Woman's 'bumpy grass' ride triggered 999 call
BBCAn 81‑year‑old woman has thanked police officers for checking on her after her mobile phone triggered an accidental emergency call while she was riding her mobility scooter over "bumpy grass".
Officers were called shortly after 09:20 BST on 9 May when Eve Wilson's phone triggered its "emergency SOS" function after being jolted around in her bag during a dog walk through fields off Kimberley Road in Borrowash, Derbyshire.
After the line went silent and callbacks failed, officers went to her home before being sent to the fields, where she and her dachshund Larry were found safe and well.
Derbyshire Police said pocket dials were "not unusual" and "pleased Eve had come to no harm".
"I was overwhelmed and embarrassed that I'd wasted their time, but I can't thank them enough for checking on me," Wilson said.
Wilson said she was enjoying her walk with Larry when she saw "two people in high visibility walking towards me".
"I made a stupid comment by asking if they were police officers and it turned out that they'd been looking for me because my phone had sent out an emergency call," she said.
"Unbeknown to me, it must have been the shaking of the phone when I was on the bumpy grass."
Derbyshire Police said it could hear "muffled sounds" during the accidental pocket dials, and able to identify it was Wilson from "previous police contact".
Wilson said police went to her home first before her cleaner told them she had gone for a dog walk in the fields.
"I was amazed by how they had bothered to look for me, an old woman, and also how kind they were when I was so embarrassed and apologetic," she said.
"I resent the bad press that the police have and I just want to thank them for their hard work."
A police spokesperson added: "This type of incident is not unusual and we know, with technology being what it is, that these things will happen and we are pleased to have been able to ensure that Eve had come to no harm."
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