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A KIND-hearted North mum may have saved the life of a frail London woman after she answered a wrong number on her son’s mobile.

The lady, who suffers from osteoporosis, a bone-thinning condition, fell while alone at home and tried to ring her son for help. By mistake she dialled the mobile number of Susan Campbell’s 12-year-old son Lewis.

Susan, 39, said: “I was in my bedroom on the computer when I heard Lewis’s mobile bleeping. When I checked, there were a number of missed calls and voice messages to pick up. “The first one was this lady’s voice saying, ‘Can you come home, I’ve had a fall’.

At first I thought it was a wind-up but as I progressed through them they got more and more desperate and while I was reading them another two came through. The last two were really frantic.

“She was saying, ‘Please come home, I’m in a terrible way’” The first message had been left around five hours earlier so Susan feared the victim could be in dire straits.

She rang the woman’s number but there was no reply. “I became really concerned then, but luckily she rang back. She must have dialled 1471 to get our number.

I said, ‘You’ve been leaving messages on my son’s mobile, do you need some help? “She said, ‘Yes, I’ve had a fall and I suffer from osteoporosis and I can’t get up. I told her I could get some help. “I think she expected us to be round the corner so when I said we weren’t in London but in Newcastle, she was really surprised.”

Susan, from Blaydon, Gateshead, contacted Northumbria Police who promised to alert the nearest London police station. “My husband Neil talked to the police on the phone later and the woman, whose name was Janet, was happy enough in herself and they were waiting for an ambulance to take her to hospital.” “I think she was grateful to us but I don’t consider I’ve done anything amazing.

I would like to think someone else would do it if any of my family needed it.” Susan, a receptionist at the Express by Holiday Inn at Gateshead MetroCentre, added: “The strange thing is, I was going to throw this phone out just a week ago because it doesn’t work very well. The only thing that stopped me was there was still a little bit of credit left on it, so she’s a lucky lady.”

Chief Inspector Laura Young of Northumbria Police’s communications department said: “It was particularly fortunate that Mrs Campbell had the presence of mind to do the right thing by ringing her local police and we were able to summon help from London. “Her actions helped an elderly woman who was clearly distressed. We deal with a huge number of calls every day and it is always satisfying when there is a positive outcome.”

The hotel is well located for many of Newcastle's major attractions including the Gateshead Metro Centre, Newcastle Telewest Arena, Newcastle United Football Ground, Beamish Open Air Museum and visits to Hadrian's Wall.

It is located at Clasper Way, Riverside Way, Derwenthaugh, near Metro Centre, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE16 3BE. Tel: 01207 451 100