A FATHER-of-two waiting on a 999 police call says he was amazed when an officer rang to ask for directions an hour later.

Stephen Kelly, of Barrow Bridge Road, Smithills, rang the emergency line when he caught a thief breaking into his car.

The call was made in the early hours Saturday morning, but, Mr Kelly claims, it took almost 90 minutes before police arrived.

And, he says, he had to give directions over the phone.

Mr Kelly, aged 37, said: "I get takeaways delivered quicker than that!

"My wife and two children were asleep in bed and got up expecting a swift response. An hour later we were giving directions to the house on the telephone.

"I am not anti-police, but I do feel that 90 minutes is unacceptable.

"An elderly couple, disabled person or a woman on her own would have been left all that time feeling vulnerable and frightened."

Mr Kelly found the man tampering inside his Rover on his driveway.

He said: "I banged on the window and he ran off. I then rang the police.

"The man was white, about 5ft 3in, was almost a skinhead and had a moustache. He wore a red sweatshirt and jeans."

A police spokesman said: "We were told the man had left so we knew that caller was in no immediate danger. There were quite a number of incidents going on at that time."

The spokesman said he hadn't asked the officer why directions were needed from Mr Kelly, but said an explanation could be that the street is divided by a stream and she needed confirmation on which side the house was.