999 call unanswered

ALVESTON, Bristol - A pensioner dialled 999 minutes before she was repeatedly stabbed in her own home by a burglar - but the operator could not hear her, it was disclosed yesterday. Ms May Neate (85) tried to call police as she heard the raider smash his way into the house but a British Telecom operator, thinking the call was a hoax, diverted to answer another 999 call. Minutes later Ms Neate was shoved into her bathroom and stabbed eight times.