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Act Of Kindness

An elderly couple rang 999 because they're lonely, so a policeman came for tea

Stu Ockwell said the couple had called “out of desperation” for someone to talk to.

image-28 ITV News ITV News

AN ELDERLY COUPLE dialled 999 because they were lonely – so a policeman came round to have a cuppa with them.

On Tuesday, Police Constable Stu Ockwell of the Greater Manchester Police responded to an emergency call made at the home of Fred and Doris Thomson.

Ockwell thought one of them may have had a fall, but when he met the 95-year-olds, he realised they just wanted someone to talk to.

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The policeman told ITV News that Fred has gone blind and Doris is finding it difficult to look after him, so he stayed for some tea.

Finding someone who just wanted to talk, that hadn’t phoned the police to waste our time – they’d phoned the police maybe out of desperation or wanting someone to speak to. We’d do it all day long.

“I went down to see them and had a cup of tea with them,” he said. “They were telling me war stories.”

Fred Thomson said he was grateful to Ockwell for actually taking the time to chat to them, admitting it was a “nice change” for the couple:

…Sometimes you can be a bit isolated as you get older, but they made me feel at home.

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