An emergency phone torn from the wall outside Camberwell police station has been left unrepaired for four months, leading to fears that in-danger locals may not be able to contact the coppers inside.
The phone was ripped off the wall outside the Church Street police station in October, but has not yet been replaced despite numerous complaints.
Because the building does not function as a working station and is instead used as a base from which police officers can operate, the phone was often the only way residents could contact nearby officers.
Mark Webb, a Camberwell resident who has complained to the police about the damaged phone on five occasions, said: “If you go to the police station in an emergency you can’t use the phone – that’s fundamentally not right.”
He also said that when he tried to knock on the door of the station to ask someone about the phone nobody answered. “The people of Camberwell should have access to police in a building full of officers. The fact that criminal damage was done in ripping the phone off the wall shows that this area needs better policing support.”
The News contacted the police for a response but no phones rang before the time of going to press.