Police 'too busy' to collect blood-stained sword from garden
A disabled pensioner called police after finding a blood-stained sword in his garden - but claims they were too busy to come and collect the deadly weapon.
Widower Stuart Ingram, 85, called 999 after being alarmed at finding the huge 2ft blade hidden under a hedge in his front garden.
But the great-grandfather claims the police call handler put the phone down on him when he reported the discovery at his Dudley home.
The pensioner said he was shocked by the response and criticised West Midlands Police, after they reportedly told him to hand the sword in himself.
He thought the find would be taken seriously and that detectives would want to investigate if it had been used in a crime.
Mr Ingram was tending his flower beds in the front garden of his home on Monday afternoon when he made the shock discovery.
West Midlands Police has launched several campaigns to get weapons off the streets of the region over recent months. The force apologised to Mr Ingram and said it was unable to send officers on the day due to ‘high demand’.
The retired foundry business owner reportedly said: “I was shocked. I picked it up carefully by the blade so as not to get my fingerprints on the handle.
“I could see blood caked on the bladed edge and my first thought was it could have been used to stab someone.
“I dialled 999 and asked to speak to police.
“This chap came on the phone. I don’t know if he was a policeman.
“He said ‘what’s your problem?’. He was very, very short with me. I said ‘my problem is I’ve just found a 2ft knife in my hedge. Can you get a policeman to come pick it up?
“He said ‘no, we can’t do that - we are far too busy’.
“I was just about to tell him my address when he just put the phone down.
“Now I’m stuck with a deadly weapon which could have been used by criminals sitting my front room and the police couldn’t care less.”
West Midlands Police apologised for Mr Ingram’s experience and said they would be collecting the weapon from his home today.
Lyndsey Swallow, head of contact handling, said: “Due to the high call demand we were unable to allocate police officers to attend and collect the weapon on the day.
“We accept that the caller's experience was unacceptable and fell below the high standards of service we expect and typically deliver. We have spoken to the call handler involved and we apologise for any upset or distress caused to the gentleman.”
