Police make it plane easy for late tourist

The police are always quick to condemn those members of the public who abuse the system by dialling 999 to find out the football scores or complain their video is broken. But when one woman rang to say her taxi was late and she was worried she would miss her flight to America, officers did not hesitate to swing into action.

The police are always quick to condemn those members of the public who abuse the system by dialling 999 to find out the football scores or complain their video is broken. But when one woman rang to say her taxi was late and she was worried she would miss her flight to America, officers did not hesitate to swing into action.

The woman, who has not been named, rang Worcester police after the taxi she had booked to take her to the coach station failed to turn up. It had been booked for 5.30am and when it was not there by 5.47am, she rang her local police station in a panic.

Officers swooped on the bus station and managed to delay the Heathrow bus until she arrived. They then rang the taxi firm to find out where the hapless driver had got to.

A spokesman for West Mercia police admitted the woman had not left herself enough time but said: "She was obviously in a state of panic because her taxi had not turned up to take her to the station.

"We do get asked all sorts of things - like whether it's going to rain - and if she had phoned 999 she would have been told it wasn't an emergency but as it was quiet, we were able to help her out."

The spokesman warned people not to regard the police as an unofficial taxi service, which might well turn out to be a case of shutting the panda door after the suspect has legged it.