Dial 999: 75 years of emergency phone calls

"On 30 June 1937, the capital's new emergency telephone line was unveiled. A notice in the Evening News advised the public how to use it.

"Only dial 999... if the matter is urgent; if, for instance, the man in the flat next to yours is murdering his wife or you have seen a heavily masked cat burglar peering round the stack pipe of the local bank building.

"If the matter is less urgent, if you have merely lost little Towser or a lorry has come to rest in your front garden, just call up the local police.""

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18520121