Clapham: Man says could not get 999 to answer after attack on common

David injured his eye and shoulder and suffered cracked ribs in the attack near Clapham South station

The victim of a violent attack in south-west London has said he could not reach an operator when he dialled 999.

The man said he was attacked on Clapham Common on 13 February after leaving Clapham South station.

He said he tried to get through to the police for about two minutes but got no answer. He managed to flag down a passing police car instead.

The Metropolitan Police has offered to meet the victim over his concerns.

David, whose name has been changed due to his concerns for his family's safety, told BBC London he required surgery for a bleed and fluid in his eye after the attack, and suffered cracked ribs and a partially-detached shoulder ligament.

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He said he had caught the "last Tube home" following a work dinner and drinks.

He believes he was then followed off the Tube and ambushed by strangers on Nightingale Lane, next to the common, at about 00:53 GMT.

'There was no answer'

"Suddenly I was aware of a presence next to me and a guy goes 'oh what time is it' and I barely even looked up, I said 'it's one o'clock' off my phone and suddenly - bang - I was hit," David said.

He said he received another kick or punch and fell to the ground before he was "dragged backwards on to the common where it was dark away from the road".

David said he was attacked near the bus stop on Nightingale Lane and dragged on to the common

David continued to be kicked by his attackers, and later on received further blows after he refused to give them his phone. He said they attacked him for about seven minutes, before they eventually walked off when he shouted for help.

"I dialled 999 and then it said 'all our operators are busy, log on to this website and I thought 'I can't believe this'," he said.

"There was nothing except this recorded thing... there was no answer."

'I could be dead'

When David saw a British Transport Police car turn up Nightingale Lane he flagged it down, and then hung up the 999 call which he said still had not been answered.

The BBC has seen call logs showing David's call ends after about two minutes.

"The fact that [the attackers] laid straight into me, if they'd had a knife who knows what would have happened - that's the scary bit in a way," he said.

"It must have been a couple of minutes trying to get through... I could be dead by then... would anyone have even seen me?"

David said "police never went out looking" for his jacket and they collected it from the common themselves

His wife Anne (also not her real name) said she worries about what would have happened if the police car had not passed by.

"He calls 999 and there's no-one to help him," she added. "We need a 999 service that answers."

Both David and Anne said they were also disappointed in how the Met has handled their case.

Police 'not joined up'

Although a Met officer came round to take a statement the next day, more than a week passed before they spoke to a robbery detective and CCTV footage was requested.

Additionally David said "police never went out looking" for the other half of his jacket - even though Anne claimed officers told her it may hold important DNA evidence.

Anne appealed online for help finding it and a member of the public spotted it on the common - but by the time they went back for it, it had to be pulled out of a bin.

"I was told to put it in a paper bag to preserve evidence," Anne said, but "it sat in the house for another three days before they got it".

The Met said the investigation would "take some time to complete" and offered to meet David

While David said he trusted the police, he said: "I don't think you can rely on the police to be there very quickly when you need them.

"They didn't know which officer had come round, they don't feel like they're very joined up," he continued.

Anne added the detective now dealing with their case was "lovely", but overall she felt "so angry... and so upset. It's been horrendous".

'Investigation is in early stages'

The Met Police said it was "unclear" what happened during David's call to 999 but it had dispatched officers after his call ended.

It is unclear whether his call was answered but it is thought police may have geolocated his call after he hung up and deployed anyway.

Det Ch Insp Dan O'Sullivan, who oversees the South West robbery squad for the Met Police, said: "I can confirm that we received a 999 call on the day, however the victim flagged down a passing British Transport Police car nine minutes later, before officers arrived."

He said the Met's investigation was "still in its early stages" and a number of lines of inquiry were being investigated including a "full trawl of CCTV of the immediate and surrounding area".

"Unfortunately, this does take some time to complete however we are keeping the victim updated as the investigation progresses," he added.

Det Ch Insp O'Sullivan said he was happy to meet David "to discuss any concerns he has over the progress of the investigation".

He urged anyone with information about the incident to contact police.

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