A WEYMOUTH couple have been left frustrated by Dorset Police’s slow response times to their calls.

The couple claim they spent 45 minutes on the phone, calling every 20 seconds before they were able to get through to report a set of missing keys.

Betty Day, aged 75, of Lanehouse, Weymouth, lost her house keys in either Lloyds TSB bank or Marks and Spencer store in St Mary Street, Weymouth on Wednesday, July 28.

She reported the keys missing to both venues, but after waiting 48 hours without a response she decided to report the loss to Dorset Police on Friday afternoon.

After trying the control room number, she was passed on to two different people. The latter promised to pass her through to Weymouth Police Station.

She waited on hold for four minutes without a response, then the operator told her to call back in five minutes.

After receiving no further answer she tried the direct line for Weymouth Police station which she found in the 2010/11 phone book.

Her husband Gordon, 76, then called the station every 20-second intervals for 45 minutes, about 135 calls, again without luck.

Again Mrs Day tried the control room number and got through. By now frustrated by spending an hour on the phone, Mrs Day complained to the operator about the difficulties she had had in trying to get through.

Mrs Day, a retired care home worker, said that she understood the police could get busy but was concerned for elderly people who could be on their own and getting worried because they could not get help.

She said she felt ‘angry’ that she had been given the ‘run around.’ She said: “It’s just frustrating when you’ve been calling them on the number in the phone book and the operator said it must have been an old number. Then I got put straight through.”

She added: “It’s a loss of confidence in someone you should have confidence in. They are the people you go to for help.

“It’s not about not picking up the phone, it’s playing about with you and swapping you from one person to another. I wouldn’t have minded if they had said ring back in an hour.

Within seconds of complaining about the situation she had been transferred to an operator who helped her to register the loss of the keys.

* A SPOKESMAN for Dorset Police said that they had been unable to find a record of the calls made by Mr and Mrs Day, but encouraged callers to report any incidents to the police.

He said: “Regrettably, we are unable to track calls made by Mrs Day prior to her successful connection with the enquiry centre.

“We would encourage anyone needing to report items of lost property to either visit their local police station or to call Dorset Police on 01305 222222, where call handlers will direct the enquiry to the appropriate police station.

“All calls to the enquiry centre are prioritised to ensure that high priority calls are dealt with before lower priority calls.”