Man arrested after vulnerable York woman pretended to ring for pizza

The woman called 999 and the emergency operator realised she was at risk of harm

A man has been arrested after a woman fearing for her safety called 999 and asked if she could order a pizza.

North Yorkshire Police said the call handler immediately asked the woman if she was in trouble and she replied "yes".

The operator was able to establish the woman was on a bus, which was located and stopped in the York area.

The force said a 40-year-old man, from Leeds, was arrested and remained in custody.

The call came into the force on Tuesday evening and the operator established the woman could only answer "yes" or "no".

They worked out the woman was at risk of harm from a man travelling with her and keeping the phone line open the operator was able to text her for more information.

The bus she was on was identified through an online tracker.

• Silent 999 calls: Press 55 to confirm emergency, campaign warns

• 'Ask for Angela' campaign rolled out across UK

• The technology helping keep women safe on the streets

Insp Dan Spence said: "This was really good work by everyone involved, allowing us to take immediate action to safeguard a vulnerable woman.

"I'm aware of people using the 'pizza ordering' technique abroad to contact the police, but I cannot recall a similar call in North Yorkshire."

If you are affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.