A man was tracked down, arrested and charged for domestic violence after a one word 999 call.

The woman was only able to say the word ‘police’ before hanging up.

“After that, no more was said but a disturbance could be heard in the background before the line cut off,” says Cambridgeshire Police.

But that was enough to persuade them it was a real emergency.

"BT played the call back to us and, fearing the woman was in immediate danger, we traced the call and visited a house in Cambridge,” said a police spokesperson.

“One man was arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse-related offences and has now been charged”

Cambs Police say all 999 calls are directed to call centres and answered by BT operators “who will ask which service you need.

“If no service is requested but anything suspicious is heard, you’ll be connected to a police call handler”.

The police spokesperson said: “It's always best to speak to the operator if you can, even by whispering.

“You may also be asked to cough or tap the keys on your phone in response to questions. The police call handler will attempt to communicate with you by asking simple yes or no questions.

“If you're not able to speak, listen carefully to the questions and instructions from the call handler so we can assess your call and arrange help if needed.”