Coastguard Called Out For Lost Phone

Portland Coastguard now think a man who dialled 999 because he lost his iPhone might not have been from the UK.

Watch Manager Maddie Davey said:

"We think the man may have not been a UK resident and this is why he didn't know who to call in this situation. Although saying this - most other countries do have emergency service numbers and people should know how they are used. Luckily the call didn't take up too much of our time and the matter was resolved quickly. In this case I would like to think it was down to naivity and it wasn't a hoax call."

The man phoned around 1.30pm on Sunday 7th October 2012 and after going into great detail about his location, he revealed his reason for calling - because he'd dropped his phone inbetween rocks at Sandbanks beach in Poole.

Maddie Davey added:

"Hoax calls are still a problem for us - a helicopter may be scrambled at vast expense to a false incident, which could take us away from someone who really needs us - it could put lives at risk.

"People should know that you only dial 999 when your life is in danger - and not for things like lost items. All coastguard stations around the UK have a general number which people can call if they need general advice about things."