Recognition for Ronnie: Brave 7-year-old praised for calling 999 after mum collapses

A seven-year-old boy who dialled 999 for help after his mum collapsed has been praised by our call handlers for his quick and mature actions.

Young Ronnie-Lee Gray, from Tilbury, sprang into action when his mum fell unconscious at the home he shares with his two younger sisters earlier this month.

Within moments, he dialled 999, coming through to our Force Control Room.

Thanks both to Ronnie’s calm responses, and the professionalism of call handler Ruth Potts, we were able to ensure our ambulance service colleagues were quickly on the scene.

Ronnie’s mum, Becky, had been recovering at home following surgery just days earlier, and said she was suffering from low blood pressure. She said:

“It’s happened before, and he phoned for help then.
“He’s known how to help for quite a while, as I’ve had this problem for some time, particularly when I was pregnant, so we’ve even given him his own phone.
“I had previously suffered with my blood pressure and sometimes passing out.”

Becky was taken on to hospital for further checks, where staff were full of praise for Ronnie’s actions. She said:

“Even when I was in hospital at A&E, I had all the doctors coming up to me telling me ‘your son is a very clever boy’.
“I’m so proud of him.”

Recognition for Ronnie did not stop there, as our Force Control Room team arranged for him to visit his local police station for a special ‘thank you’.

He met officers with Thurrock Community Policing Team and even got the chance to check out the team’s quad bikes – which are used to tackle anti-social motorcycling in the district.

Becky added:

“I am extremely proud of my son, and I’m very pleased he’s getting this recognition for what he did.
“There’s not a lot of people of that age who would know to do that and to act in the way he did.
“For him to be able to ring up 999 and give his full details and stay calm, it’s amazing.
“Although it turned out to thankfully not be so serious, it was his first instinct to call for help when he saw his mum fall to the floor.”

Thurrock Engagement Sergeant, Amelia Moore, added:

“Ronnie showed maturity far beyond his years in helping his mum that day and clearly avoided a potentially worse outcome.
“It’s only right we thank him in some small way by letting him come and meet his local policing team.
“We were delighted to host Ronnie, he was a real pleasure and a credit to his family.”

Adam Taylor, Force Control Room supervisor, said:

“Praise must also go to call handler Ruth Potts, whose manner and professionalism with Ronnie ensured we had help in place for his mum as quickly as possible.
“Ruth is an outstanding call taker and a credit to the FCR.
“This call illustrates the variety of incidents we at the Essex Police control room deal with on a day-to-day basis, facing huge demand and persevering with care and patience.
“We deal with a range of complex and challenging situations.
“Although this ended up being a medical emergency and something for the ambulance service to deal with, the professionalism of our call handler ensured we could facilitate a quick response from our colleagues.
“There is a lot of good work which goes on behind the front lines of policing, 24 hours a day, to ensure we help those in an emergency.”

During the peak of summer demand, our Force Control Room can receive as many as 2,000 calls per day.

While many of these calls are genuine emergencies, such as Ronnie’s, as many as 80 per cent do not require an immediate emergency response.

If someone’s life or property is in immediate danger, call 999.

For everything else, help us help you by submitting a report through the Digital 101 service on our website or by using our online Live Chat service available Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) between 10am-9pm.

For more information on how and when to contact us, visit our Help us Help You page.