A PENSIONER whose husband caught an intruder in a neighbourhood plagued by thefts was stunned to be told by police they were busy and could not send an officer straight away.
Mick Fletcher, 71, found the teenager snooping around in the garage at a house in Alvaston, and cornered the youth, calling to his wife Catherine, 68, to phone 999.
But she was amazed when police told her they were unable to send an officer straight away and instead asked her to remember what the intruder looked like.
Mr and Mrs Fletcher kept watch over him until police finally arrived. They estimated it took 30 minutes for an officer to come, although "it seemed longer".
Police insisted the officer had taken 23 minutes to get to the scene and said it was "regrettable" that they could not have responded sooner but they had been dealing with several emergencies.
Mrs Fletcher said: "We'd been targeted twice already and I was amazed when my husband caught someone, only for us to be told by police they could not send anyone straight away."
The couple had been looking after daughter Claire's home in St Michael's View while she was away because it had been targeted by thieves.
Grandson Callum's bike had been stolen from the garage in March despite being secured with three locks. To the family's amazement they received a further visit from an intruder the next day. When Callum, 17, returned from school he found the living room window smashed.
Police told the family that they believed that it may have been the same thief or thieves coming back for another bike they had left behind during the previous burglary.
Three weeks later, Mr and Mrs Fletcher were at their daughter's house while she was out and were surprised to hear an alarm – fitted after the previous incident – activate.
Mrs Fletcher said: "My husband said there was someone in the garage."
Mr Fletcher headed out to the garage and found a youth in there. His wife said: "Mick didn't touch him but he told me to call the police straight away. So I said to the lad 'Don't you dare move!' and phoned 999."
She said: "I was shaking as I called the police. I told them what happened and they told us they were a bit busy but would try and get someone to come out to see us.
"Then the line went dead but after that someone came back on and asked me to be sure we knew what he looked like. So I tried to take a picture of the lad with my phone but as I was shaking so much it was useless."
"We had to wait 30 minutes for the police to arrive. It seemed like ages. I asked him what he thought he was doing and who he was. The boy was shaking and fiddling with the gloves he was wearing.
"He was crying and kept saying how sorry he was."
"I didn't think about it at the time but he could have had a knife or something. But I was just so mad because he shouldn't have been there!"
When the police arrived, they arrested the youth and questioned him. Mrs Fletcher said: "They have since been in touch and told us that as he never took anything they won't be charging him! What more evidence do you need? He told them he was playing hide and seek with friends but that's just ridiculous."
Since the incident, a neighbour in Glastonbury Road has had four bikes stolen from a garage.
SENIOR OFFICER SAYS DELAY WAS 'REGRETTABLE'CHIEF Inspector Michelle Shooter said: "We always aim to respond to incidents as quickly and as safely as possible and it is regrettable that it took officers 23 minutes to arrive.
"When the initial call was received, all officers that respond to incidents in the Alvaston area were unavailable as they were dealing with other emergency incidents.
"This meant we needed to send officers based in a different area of Derby, which meant our response time was delayed. When officers arrived, a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of burglary and later interviewed. A 13-year-old boy was also interviewed in connection with this incident.
"Unfortunately, there was insufficient evidence to successfully prosecute either of the suspects. The victim was fully updated about this at the time.
"Local safer neighbourhoods officers were made aware of this incident and other shed and garage burglaries in the area and patrols were increased. We continue to take action to tackle burglaries and bring those responsible to justice as well as working with residents to offer prevention advice and reassurance. I would like to reinforce that this was an exceptional set of circumstances that led to a very unusual delay."
Derbyshire police does not have required target times for attending incidents, only for the time it takes to answer 999 calls.
