Police took hours to help terrified woman

COPS failed to respond to a call from a petrified woman who called them three times complaining yobs were trying to get into her house.

The desperate pleas were made to the controversial Bilston Glen call-centre and a new report by a watchdog as found failings by Police Scotland over the incident.

Despite being “very scared” the woman had to wait two and a half hours for officers to arrive, by which time the neds had vanished.

It’s the latest scandal to involve the Bilston Glen telephone hub which made national headlines due to the M9 crash scandal in which Lamara Bell and her boyfriend John Yuill died.

Last night, Lamara’s mum Diane Bell hit out at the failures exposed. She said the latest incident was another indication that things within Police Scotland were “not right”.

“It’s just the same as usual,” she said. “It’s not changed. It doesn’t help to know there are more of these cases.

“Ours was the extreme example, but there are lots of cases that are the same.

“How many more..? doesn’t seem to stop.”

The woman first called police at 8.52pm on October 4 last year saying two men were “trying to bang down the door”.

She begged call handlers to send officers as “soon as possible” as she was “very scared”.

Bilston Glen staff said they would get officers there “as

It soon as we can”. Over an hour later she called again saying the men were now trying to open her door.

According to the complaint, call handlers told the woman officers were at the scene. But, again, they failed to arrive.

After the two men verbally abused her, she called cops for a third time at 10.49pm.

Officers finally arrived at 11.22pm – but the culprits could not be traced.

The woman complained officers had taken an excessive amount of time and that a call handler she spoke to left her feeling an “inconvenience”.

Her complaint was immediately probed by independent watchdog body, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC). It agreed officers took “excessive” time to respond.

However, the complaint about the tone of the staff at Bilston Glen was not upheld. Police say the mix-up happened due to officers on the ground and not at the controversial call-handling centre near Loanhead, Midlothian.

Last night, politicians and campaigners slammed the latest scandal.

Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said: “Nearly three hours to respond to a call of this magnitude is unacceptable by anyone’s standards.

“It’s clear action has to be taken to sort this out.”

Heartbroken mum Diane revealed the family had not yet been informed of a PIRC probe into Lamara’s death.

She added: “We’re in limbo. It has been an awful time.”

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “The recommendations contained in this complaint handling review are currently being considered by Police Scotland.”