Life or Death & Hoax Calls

Filmed with the emergency services in Blackpool, this powerful documentary series reveals how Britain is changing, as seen through the eyes of police, fire and ambulance teams on the front line responding to 999 calls. This week's dramatic programme focuses on life savers and time-wasters. Police, ambulance and fire crews race on blue lights to help us when our lives are thrown into chaos. For those working in the emergency services, responding to a life-or-death situation is the reason they joined the police, fire or ambulance services. But an increasing number of people are calling 999 with non-emergencies, as well as hoax calls, that are costing the already stretched services millions and potentially diverting crews from genuine emergencies. The programme features calls to the emergency services about a range of non-emergencies, from culinary injuries to broken light bulbs, as bizarre as they are diverse. But even more serious are the handful of people who abuse the emergency system by making hoax calls in the knowledge that they are potentially diverting an ambulance or fire engine from attending a serious injury or life-threatening situation. The fire brigade are called to a string of non-existent fires by a 999 hoaxer, costing thousands of pounds and diverting emergency crews away from people who could be in desperate need. But when he's eventually caught and interviewed the hoaxer can't offer an explanation for why he made the calls. One man who's grateful for the fire brigade's prompt help is Martin Abbott, who's left badly injured when an out-of-control Porsche smashes into his car. Meanwhile, when a desperate woman calls 999 to say that her husband isn't breathing, 23-year-old ambulance control operator Tracey Gardiner must teach the woman how to carry out CPR to keep him alive until the ambulance arrives.