Four-year-old twins have been credited with saving their mother’s life by using Siri to call 999 after she collapsed and fell unconscious.
Roman and Samuel Sharma were able to unlock Claudia’s iPhone by pressing her finger onto the screen and then asking personal assistant Siri for help.
The function dialled 999 and put them through to the emergency services, following the incident on 7 March.
Police have since released a recording of the call to remind parents the importance of teaching their children to learn their address and how to use 999 in an emergency.
After the call handler asked Roman where his mother was, he replied he thought she was dead because: “She’s closing her eyes and she’s not breathing.”
Remaining calm, the call handler managed to keep the children talking and found out they lived in Kenley, Croydon, sending officers and an ambulance to the address immediately.
Because the boys were able to give the call handler the correct address, it saved police vital minutes in getting to them.
Roman: Hello, I’m Roman
999: Ok, where’s your mummy?
Roman: She’s at home.
999: And where are you?
Roman: At home as well
999: Can you do me a favour, can you go and get Mummy?
Roman: We can’t she’s dead
999: You said mummy was there, what do you mean she’s dead?
Roman: It means that she’s closing her eyes and she’s not breathing
Thirteen minutes after receiving the call, officers arrived and managed to force entry inside the house where they found the twins and their younger brother Luca all inside with their mother, who was lying unconscious on the floor.
Paramedics were able to give life-saving first aid to her and she was taken to hospital after regaining consciousness at her home.
Mrs Sharma said: “We immensely proud of Roman and Samuel; they did a fantastic job of looking after me and their little brother. We play Doctors, Police and Firemen at home all the time and I taught them their home address and how to call 999 after seeing a similar story last year. Obviously I never thought they would have to use it, but they remembered everything I had told them and stayed very calm.”
Karen Barry, Headteacher at Laleham Lea School where the twins attend, said: “We are so proud of the twins; they were amazing in the way they reacted with such calm sensibility. Well done boys on helping your Mummy! I’m sure a special award awaits you in assembly.”