A fleet of police cars and fire engines were seen racing to Erdington and Perry Barr from across Birmingham tonight
Unverified footage of police operation in Slade Road, Erdington, was circulating online. (Image: Google )
A huge 999 alert that saw police and fire officers race to part of north Birmingham from across the city was a false alarm, the West Midlands force revealed late tonight, Friday, September 5.
The alarm was raised at around 5pm as multiple reports were made of a massive emergency services response to the Erdington /Kingstanding and Perry Barr areas.
Police said officers were responding to a report of a man acting suspiciously in Erdington – but community concerns grew with scenes of activity reported at several locations.
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Now, with a number of unverified rumours circulating on social media, the force has revealed the initial alert it received was “inaccurate”, although it stressed it was made with the best of intentions.
Emergency resources in the area were later reduced, it said.
The update came at around 10pm after several hours of uncertainty and the circulation of videos – unverified by official sources – which showed police conducting an operation in the Slade Road area of Erdington.
The details of the original tip passed to police were not known.
West Midlands Police said: “Earlier this evening we asked for the public’s vigilance after we had received a report of a man acting suspiciously in the Erdington area.
“We have carried out a number of enquiries through the evening and we are now able to say that we believe this report was a provided out of genuine concern and with good intent but it has turned out to be inaccurate.
“We’ll continue to have officers in the area, as we regularly do as part of our daily plans, but not the substantial resources which were there earlier.
“We would like to thank the public for their support this evening as well as our partner agencies.”