It always pays to take a second glance at your phone before you hit dial.
Northbridge Police – in Massachusetts, United States, that is – have been getting acquainted with the nocturnal goings-on in Northbridge, Western Australia, with a regular stream of emergency calls being massively misdirected.
Northbridge callers (the Aussie ones) who want to get in touch with police are being put through to Northbridge Police (the Massachusetts one) call centre only to be queried with an American accent asking: "Are you looking for Northbridge, Australia?"
Northbridge Police (in the US) started receiving calls from Northbridge (in WA) in early March and operators quickly caught on the calls were clearly not local when they detected the distinct Australian accent coming down the line.
"We were trying to determine whether it was in town or not and we realised it was in Australia," Detective Sergeant John Ouillette of Northbridge Police (US) told Channel 4 news.
One operator has taken at least 20 calls from Northbridge (the WA one – this doesn't get old) in five-and-a-half weeks.
"The accent was definitely the first thing that gave it away," he said.
Northbridge (WA), described as an Australian suburb "dotted with palm trees", has been known for its late-night troubles and now its reputation is being shared across the globe with the other Northbridge Police, saying the majority of calls reported were for break-ins, fights and missing property.
"They usually sound sort of embarrassed," the operator said of the callers.
Northbridge Police (the Australian one) has reminded callers that if anyone has an emergency to dial 000 or 131444.
