‘999 Day’ honours emergency service staff

The work of the emergency services has been celebrated in the first ever “999 Day”.

Emergency Services Day, also referred to as 999 Day, aims to copy the success of Armed Forces Day, and has taken place for the first time on September 9, beginning at 9am, to represent the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month.

The charity National Emergency Services Memorial (NESM) won the backing of Theresa May for the event as it hopes to raise £2 million to build the first national cenotaph dedicated to the courage and sacrifice of public servants.

Mrs May said: “I would like to thank everyone working in our emergency services on #999DayUK. They go above and beyond every day to help save lives and keep us safe.”

Police forces were among those voicing their support on social media, with the hashtag #999DayUK trending in the UK.

Greater Manchester Police tweeted: “Today we are proudly supporting #EmergencyServicesDay. A HUGE thank you to all our officers and staff at GMP, as well as all those who work with us 24-hours a day to keep the people of Greater Manchester safe.

“You are all incredible and do a fantastic job.”

Lancashire Police kept Twitter users up to date with some of the incidents its officers had to deal with on Sunday.

One tweet said: “999 call regarding another domestic incident in Blackburn. Man is ‘kicking off’ inside a property, sounds of screaming and shouting and potentially children at the address. We are on our way #999DayUK”

Another incident involved a woman in Lancaster who said a man she did not know, who appeared to be drunk, was asleep on her sofa.

“She doesn’t know who he is and she forgot to lock the front door last night – we are now at scene,” the force said.

They later said: “Lancaster Update for everyone who’s asked – the man was on a night out, had let himself into the flat and gone to sleep on the couch. He’s now woken up and gone. Everyone OK!”

Another tweet from Lancashire Police said: “We’ve had a 999 today from someone who has called us as a joke because they are unhappy with an OFSTED inspection.

“This person has been warned that they will receive a fixed penalty if they misuse the system again. Please – we are busy enough! #999DayUK”

Paying tribute to the emergency services, NHS England said: “You go above and beyond what is expected of you on a daily basis. This is our simple and understated thank you to all of you.”