'A call I will never forget' - Boy, 3, potentially saves mum's life with 999 call

A three-year-old boy's emergency 999 call helped potentially save his mum's life after she collapsed at her home in Yorkshire.

Three-year-old James called 999 and was put through to South Yorkshire Police after his mother, Georgia, became seriously unwell and fell unconscious.

Despite being such a young age, James was able to tell the call handler what had happened.

The call handler, who South Yorkshire Police named only as Jen, spoke calmly to the young boy to understand more about what had happened, before reassuring his mother when she regained consciousness.

She said it was a “call I will never forget” after realising the seriousness of the situation when realising she was speaking to a young child whose mother had collapsed.

The remarkable call came just months after James' parents, Georgia and Jake, decided to teach him how to call 999 in an emergency following a visit to Sheffield's Emergency Services Museum.

Georgia said: "When I was pregnant I had really bad sickness and my anxiety was all over the place. I kept thinking 'what if something bad happens at home and I'm on my own?'

"I was really worried so we thought we would teach him how to call 999. There is a section at the museum where they've got magnetic numbers on a fridge, and it helps children learn what numbers to call in an emergency so we decided to use that to teach him how to do it and importantly when to do it."

Georgia and Jake had conversations with James about when it would be appropriate to dial 999 and last month, when Georgia collapsed at home due to suffering from postural hypertension and dehydration, that call was made as James spoke to one of our call handlers and secured emergency help for his mum.

"He potentially saved my life as I didn’t know how long I was going to be passed out for," Georgia admits.

"When I came round, I was an absolute mess but the police operator on the other end of the phone managed to calm me and two officers came around to my home to check on my welfare.

"They were fantastic as they managed to distract James while I was being checked over which was a massive help."

The response officers who attended Georgia's home following the 999 call were so struck by James' decision-making and recognition of the situation that they wanted to return and present him with a toy as a token of their gratitude.

It's fair to say a "police-obsessed" James was chuffed with his helicopter which was presented to him by PC Jordan Kassim and PC Charlotte Wright earlier this month.

Georgia and Jake said they are "so proud" of James and are now urging other parents to have conversations with children about 999 calls and when to use them in emergencies.

"He is an incredible little boy, and we still can't believe he managed to do it and recognised the emergency that was happening," Georgia said.

"I hope this encourages other parents to consider having the same conversation with their children because it's so important to teach them while they're young and it could be lifesaving."

"My priority was to keep him calm while finding a way to help him understand what I needed him to do," call handler Jen said.

"Instead of giving instructions that might have frightened or confused him, I turned it into a game, asking him to tickle his mum to try and wake her up.

"Hearing him engage with me and then hearing that his mum had regained consciousness was an incredible moment of relief.

"Working as a police call handler is a role that comes with a great deal of pressure.

"We speak to people on some of the worst days of their lives, often making difficult decisions in a matter of seconds.

"It can be emotionally demanding, and we don't always hear what happened afterwards or receive positive feedback about the difference we've made.

"This call was different. It reminded me that staying calm, thinking creatively, and adapting to the person on the other end of the phone can have a real impact.

"Knowing that a few simple words helped a little boy assist his mum at such a frightening moment is something I will always carry with me. Moments like these reinforce why this job matters so much and why, despite the challenges, it is such a privilege to be a police call handler."

Operations Chief Inspector Louise Kent said: "Our force control room deals with more than 3,000 calls a day, with our call handlers trained to seek the most efficient resolution at the first point of contact.

They deal with a wide range of calls across many different scenarios but whatever the situation, their main goal is ensuring the safety of those on the other end of the call.

"Thanks to James' perception and understanding of the situation in front of him, the call handler was able to do just that and adapted her language and tone to ensure she offered calm and reassurance to James in what must have been a frightening incident.

"She was able to assess the situation in front of her and deploy officers to Georgia's address, allowing her to seek medical treatment and James' parents should rightly be proud of him for his actions on that day.

“I am incredibly proud to work alongside our call handler Jen who managed this incident so well.”