A 999 call handler has been praised by police after she helped save the life of a man who was unable to speak and in need of medical help.

Kathryn Longstaff, who is in her 40s, and a call handler at the Cleveland Police control room, answered the call which was made on Saturday, February 16.

A 63-year-old man had managed to dial the emergency services, and was connected with Ms Longstaff, whilst he was suffering a ‘medical episode.’

But due to an inability to speak, and in order to get her attention, he tapped against the phone.

Ms Longstaff said: “As soon as I picked up the call, I knew something wasn’t right and I had to think quickly of a way to communicate with him as I didn’t know at that point what sort of danger he was in.”

Ms Longstaff remained on the phone and came up with an idea to ask a series of important questions, which she realised could be answered through tapping.

The Northern Echo:

Kathryn Longstaff who has been praised by the force

She added: “Thankfully he had contacted police before and his number and address were already on our system – this allowed me to ask him to confirm his personal details by tapping.”

“I asked if he was in danger and if he needed an ambulance.

“I even asked him if he could manage to open the door to allow medical services to access his house, which he was able to do.

“As soon as I knew that he was in danger, my colleague dispatched officers to his address who also alerted the Medicar to attend as quickly as possible – the man could only use a whiteboard to communicate with staff and he wrote on it to thank all the staff for saving his life, which was extremely moving.”

The man was then taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Superintendent Emily Harrison of Cleveland Police said: “Kathryn is an absolute credit to the force, without her quick-thinking the man might not be alive today.

“This incident was extremely challenging for all involved and without the professional and calm actions of officers, staff and medical colleagues who worked above and beyond to ensure his safety, the outcome could have been very different.”