TWO call handlers at Wiltshire Police have been praised by Chief Constable Mike Veale for the way in which they handled a 999 call from a father who reported that his baby son had stopped breathing.

Fran Fleming, who has been in the job just less than a year, and Dave Fergusson, who joined in 2008, kept their cool and remained professional throughout the tense call which came in towards the end of last year.

It was Fran who originally answered the 999 call from the frantic father, who was living in north Wiltshire, and who could speak very little English.

She attempted to calm the man down so she could understand exactly what his emergency was.

It transpired that the man’s seven-month-old son had stopped breathing and had turned blue.

Dave, who is first aid trained, had just come on shift and could hear the nature of the job Fran was dealing with.

He helped give clear first aid instructions over the phone, until the baby began to cry.

An ambulance crew then arrived at the scene and took over the incident.

Fran said: “We don’t deal with incidents like this one very often so I remember it well. The man was hysterical on the phone and there was a language barrier too.

"I really struggled to get an address from him which we urgently needed so we could send help.

“He told me his baby had turned blue and wasn’t breathing. He said he was going to die.

"He was really panicky and was passing the phone between different people and I could hear people screaming in the background.

“When you dial 999, if you don’t tell the operator which emergency service you need or they can’t get a response from you, you will automatically come through to the police, which is why we received this call. You don’t expect to get calls like this.”

Dave added: “I came on shift and heard what Fran was dealing with so I helped give first aid and told the man to put his child over his knee and make sure his airway was clear.

"Eventually I could hear the baby crying in the background. It was a huge relief, it really was brilliant to hear him crying.

"We had to then end the call and the ambulance service arrived and took over from there.”

Chief Constable Mike Veale said: “This was a frantic, frightening few minutes for all those involved, and I’m told you could hear a pin drop in the Crime and Communication Centre (CCC) while the call was being dealt with, but without the excellent joint work of both Dave and Fran, there may have been a very different outcome.

“I was delighted to meet them both and pass on my congratulations and thanks for their work.

“I have so much admiration for those working at the CCC and that is why I was delighted to throw my support behind this week’s social media campaign - ‘Who You Gonna Call’ which aims to raise awareness of the appropriate use of the 999 and 101 numbers, as well as reduce demand and highlight the excellent work of our call handlers, like Dave and Fran, who often find themselves in the middle of potentially life-changing situations, yet are able to remain focused and provide that calm and reassuring voice on the end of the phone.”