A PENSIONER couldn’t call an ambulance after breaking her left femur because Vodafone had disconnected her mobile from the network.

After suffering a nasty fall, Lilian Jackson managed to reach into a drawer where she keeps a mobile phone for emergencies, but the phone didn’t dial out.

The 88-year-old lay on the floor of her Old Town home in agony for an hour until her husband Bob returned and called for help on his phone.

She is now in hospital recovering from emergency surgery and will be there for up to 8 weeks.

Bob is furious with Vodafone and wants to warn other people before they end up in the same situation as his wife.

The 85-year-old said: “This is wrong, I think it's terrible that someone can try to call 999 but nothing happens.

“I always thought that, even if you were out of credit, you could call 999.

"I'm the chairman of the Lawn Community Organisation and I open the office at the community centre every Tuesday.

"While I'm away, I feel that Lilian's safe because she has her emergency phone.

"I was shocked when I came home last week and found her like that.

"Her phone was just a worthless piece of plastic.

“I've been a Vodafone customer since the '80s, when mobiles were brick-sized, and I had no idea they disconnected the phone completely and took the credit away if it wasn’t used.

"I know a lot of elderly residents in the area and I'm worried that they might not know about this policy.

"I'm sure I've never let six months pass without adding credit or sending a text."

Lilian now has a new phone number with credit.

Bob’s daughter Christine said: “No-one ever mentions this when you’re buying the phone, it’s dangerous.

“I complained about it but they just came back with a robotic reply, like they were reading from a script.

“They should be ashamed of themselves.”

A spokesperson for Vodafone said: “We are very sorry to hear about this.

“Our regulator, Ofcom, asks us to be economical with the issuing of phone numbers so our policy is to recycle numbers when they haven’t been used for some time.

“This is the same for other operators.

“After six months of non-usage, the line is suspended and we send a text message to warn the customer that the phone will be disconnected if not used.

“If it isn’t used for a further three months, the line is disconnected and number recycled.

“When a phone is inactive, we have no way of knowing whether it’s being kept for emergencies or has been disposed of for good, so we recommend that customers make a chargeable call, a chargeable text or a top-up every two months or so.

“If you’re keeping a phone for emergencies only, it’s also advisable to check the battery is still charged every now and then, too.”