HOW to alert police to an emergency in secret if you are in too much danger to speak on the phone.

When you phone 999 (or 112), an operator will ask what emergency service you need.

If there is no answer, the operator will then ask you to cough, or make another audible sign that you’re in need of police assistance.

If you’re in trouble, the emergency services operator will ask you to make an audible sound, if you don’t then you are put through to an automated system.

If you’re in too much danger to make any sound at all, the call will be put through to an automated system which asks the caller to press 55 if they’re in danger.

If 55 isn’t dialled, the police will not be dispatched.

CASH MACHINE ROBBERY

It is worth noting that a well-versed claim that you can alert police to a mugging at a cash machine by entering your PIN number backwards is false.

It claims that if you enter your pin number in reverse into a cash point the police will be sent to your location. This information is not true.