I BEGAN reading the article “Think before you dial 999” (WT, January 22) expecting it to be the usual tale of emergency number mis-use: people locking themselves out of the house or mislaying the telephone number for the local takeaway, that sort of thing.

So I was shocked and appalled to read the comments from the call-handler who, in an attempt at illustrating what the 999 service should be used for, gave a graphic account of a genuine emergency call, which left this reader in absolutely no doubt as to the caller’s extreme distress at such a terribly tragic time.

I can’t think of any good reason why it’s necessary for such personal and distressing details to appear in print, or why the Police press office would even see fit to allow it. Can’t people self-edit these days? Must everything be ‘out there’ for all to see, and what about the family concerned? The WT should take some responsibility for putting them through another ordeal.

Sheena Broadhead, Woods Hill, Limpley Stoke