What you need to do if you call 999 in an emergency and are unable to talk

There may come a time in everyone’s life when you need to call the emergency services, but it might put you or those around you in even more danger by talking.

When you call 999, an operator asks which service you require. If you remain silent and it’s an emergency, you’ll be asked to cough or make some other audible sound without speaking.

But what are you supposed to do if making any noise at all might alert an attacker to your presence and so you need to remain silent?

The answer is to dial ‘55’.

Emergency services have previously announced that if they receive a 999 (or 112) call but hear nothing on the end of the line, they won’t automatically investigate it.

But they’ve recently reiterated how those in an emergency can alert the police without making a sound.
The correct procedure is called SILENT SOLUTIONS but very few people know it exists.

If after calling 999 you haven’t been able to signal to the operator that your call is an emergency by coughing, you’ll be put through to an operating system.

What you then have to do if you’re in danger is dial ‘55’, otherwise the call will be ended.