A POLICE call handler has been sacked after she ended a 999 call from a vulnerable woman who was later raped. 

Gail Daniels-Ekarte was dismissed by Thames Valley Police following a gross misconduct hearing after she ended a call from woman saying she was in danger in Oxford in December 2013.

Ms Daniels-Ekarte hung up on the rape victim after a five-and-a-half-minute call and didn't send any officers to help her.

Later the same day, police received a call reporting that the same woman had been raped.

Ms Daniels-Ekarte was dismissed without notice last Wednesday. 

On hearing of her dismissal, the head of a abuse support charity demanded for the police to establish why such events were able to happen.

Enough Abuse UK founder Marilyn Hawes said the force was "responsible for its employees" and questioned why the call handler failed in helping the victim.

She said: "It's absolutely right that she should be dismissed.

"But we need to look at who is accountable, what are the checks and balances that Thames Valley Police put in place for people doing this job?

"It's a very stressful job and people hear harrowing things, but are there systems in place for them to cope?

"It's a demanding job and you have to be a certain type of person to do it, but where does the buck stop? When you take these calls you are dealing with life or death situations."

Ms Hawes also questioned if procedures were in place for call handlers to "download their stress" to supervisors.

At the misconduct hearing it was found that Ms Daniels-Ekarte failed to deal with the call appropriately and did not follow TVP policies and guidelines.

The police said yesterday that 40-year-old Zilvinas Ruzgas of Odessa Road, London, was jailed for seven years for rape and placed on the sexual offenders register.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Hardcastle, head of operations for Thames Valley Police, said Ms Daniels-Ekarte "fell very far below the standard" of what is expected.

He added: "We have dismissed a member of staff as they failed to respond appropriately to what was a clear call for help from a member of the public."

Associate commissioner of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigated the case, Guido Liguori said the victim was "let down" in her hour of need.

He added: "We have kept the victim in this case updated throughout our investigation and our sympathy remains with her."