Police investigate 999 delay claim

North Yorkshire Police has apologised for the delay

Police in Scarborough are investigating claims it took their officers three hours to respond to an emergency 999 call.

Geoffrey Collins, from Staxton, dialled for help when he saw three men he thought were about to burgle his neighbour's home.

But despite being told that police were on their way, Mr Collins says it was three hours before any officers turned up.

The men spent about 25 minutes in the house and then left - more than two-and-a-half hours before the police arrived.

Force apology

Mr Collins told BBC Radio York: "They (the men) were acting suspiciously so I rang 999.

"Somebody answered and while I was speaking they broke into one of the bungalows.

"The woman on the line said police were on their way."

Chief Superintendent David Short apologised for the delay, which he blamed on the force control room's failure to prioritise the report.

He said: "We are taking this matter very seriously and the senior officer in charge of force communications, Superintendent Iain Spittall, has been asked to look into what happened.

"We can only apologise profusely for our failure to attend as quickly as we would have liked to this incident and hope to offer him some explanations soon."