Walking down to the shop for lunch, ahead of me there was a bloke flat on his back staring at the sky. Alsatian guarding him.

As I get up close, it's apparent he's pickled. Steaming.

Anyway, alsatian aside (it seemed quite friendly), I asked him if he was ok. He opened his eyes, and mumbled that he'd had too much to drink. I asked him if he needed an ambulance and he said no, so I made sure he got himself on to his side in case he threw up, and then left him alone. When I came back from the shop, he was back on his back but had been trying to get up.

Call an ambulance and take it away from a potentially worse situation or leave him to it?

Call 999 and tell the experts. Let them decide.

EDIT – and check how much is in his pockets first.

Steal his wallet 👿

Ambulance, they can decide whether to attend or what state he is in when they get there. Might be something more serious the alcohol has triggered?

if he's definitely drunk, not in immediate danger and vaguely conscious then leave him.

I'd leave him 😛

Always best to call an ambulance imo. He might have other health conditions that need attending to. Somebody who is drunk in the early afternoon, is possibly not the sort of person who looks after themselves very well.

If he's a 'regular offender' then the authorities might have contact details for someone to come and pick him up.

I envy him… 🙂

Bit more info – when i got to the shops, a woman asked what was going on so i told her. She was going to give him 15 minutes then check on him with a view to calling the pros

give him a cuddle

I envy him…

😆

Put his organs on Ebay? 😯

Immediately rush into the nearerst shop / house and ask for a bowl of warm water. Go back outside with the warm water in the bowl and place drunkards hand in bowl to see if it really does work

Wee in his shoes whilst he's still wearing them?

Take him back to the pub and let the drinking games commence

Right callous bunch of bastards on here, eh? 🙁

What have you done? Did you call an ambulance, or did you leave him there to die?

You left him there to die, didn't you?

And you robbed him, I bet…

Leave him, he's drunk, not dying/in need of an ambulance. Once requested to attend I dont think the ambulance have any choice, and thats a complete waste unless he's vomiting and in danger of dying. Hes just a drunk, leave him to sleep it off.

Look out for a second-hand Alsatian in the classifieds later today….. 😉

I'd have 999ed it personally, and stayed with him.

If what I see on the news is to be believed our city centres are crawling with drinks every night; would you call 999 for all of them? Or just the ones that look really bad? I don't know how to tell.

I've been drunk enough to sleep on my back on the side of the road several times. If you'd rung and ambulance I'd have been mortified and endlessly apologetic for wasting everyones time when I'd just decided to kip there.

I'm sure I heard that ambulance people throw a drunk's shoe out the door in these situations – urban myth?

I'm sure I heard that ambulance people throw a drunk's shoe out the door in these situations – urban myth?

I have never heard that, but it would explain a lot (of odd shoes).

Leave him, he's drunk, not dying/in need of an ambulance.

You don't know that. Unless you're a doctor, or a person with sufficient medical knowledge etc you're not really qualified to make that call. Of course you can leave him there, and he probably is just pissed, but an ambulance crew are better qualified to make that judgement.

I've ended up calling ambulances a couple of times for drunks. Yeah, probably wasted mine and everyone else's time, but it's Human Life, and therefor worthy of caring for, no matter how much they abuse themselves. As mentioned, could be that he was on some medication, and didn't realise that drink would mix badly. Leaving someone in that condition may result in a serious problem, even death.

a tenner says this was in Stockport

We saw a bloke in a similar state a while ago. My wife is a doctor* and she doesn't like walking past folk in a state, even if they appear to be drunk.

We stopped the car, went and made sure he was conscious then ended up calling for an ambulance to come and pick him up as it turned out he had a bleeding head wound.

* Sadly these days folk who collapse due to epillepsy, diabetes or stroke can often get walked past because folk just think they are drunk.

Funny that, same thing happened to me on Tuesday morning but it was 6.30am and I was driving past as a guy keeled over onto his head. Went back and asked the guy if he was ok and by that time he had got up and was walking "on his way back home". Glad I stopped unlike lots of others who kept driving…. Hope someone stops if I'm ever in trouble – good on you Pook for not just walking past

Unless you're a doctor, or a person with sufficient medical knowledge etc you're not really qualified to make that call.

So unless I am a doctor I am obliged to call an ambulance every time I see a drunk person? The mind boggles.

I was on the road bike when a couple of very fit lasses started waving at me, asking me to stop, which I did. I just thought it was down to my dashing good looks and physique, but no 🙁 They asked have I got a mobile, and to call an ambulance.

Looked at a row of bushes and there's a pair of legs sticking out!

Phone the ambulance and the two girls go and tell this bloke that the medics are on the way. At which point he suddenly gets up and staggers off whist I'm on the phone…

"There is a man out cold"……."hold on, he's getting up!"….."sorry to trouble you, he's sh!tfaced"….

fart in his face

So unless I am a doctor I am obliged to call an ambulance every time I see a drunk person? The mind boggles.

The person described in the OP was more than just drunk though – he sounded like he *may* have been at risk.

So unless I am a doctor I am obliged to call an ambulance every time I see a drunk person? The mind boggles.

Well there's "a bit tipsy after too many sherrys" and there is "completely unable to stand up, walk or talk".

The latter may justify an ambulance.

So unless I am a doctor I am obliged to call an ambulance every time I see a drunk person? The mind boggles.

Don't be silly that's not what I said, is it? And you well know it.

If a person appears to be severely incapacitated to the point they have lost control of their limbs, then I think it's fair to say that medical experience and expertise is very useful to have, especially if you don't know the person, what they've been drinking/taking or their medical history.

If the person may be at risk of harm, or harming others, then it's a job for the emergency services. That's their job.

It's about making an informed decision. You can't do that if you lack the relevant information. Better, perhaps, to involve those who may be better able to gain that information.

But you knew that. You're just being obtuse. 🙄

If someone is in such a state, on your premises, and you do nothing, you can be held liable if they die or suffer serious harm. Self inflicted or not. If they're out in a public place, then surely it's our civic duty to try and help?

True, true. It's just that from Pook's description he seems to me to have done about right. Asks the bloke how he is, the bloke's talking, and states he's drunk. I reckon that's all you can do. If someone's distressed, injured or whatever then that's one thing, but if they appear basically to be having a sleep because they're steaming I'm not sure insisting on turning them into a medical emergency on the offchance makes much sense. 😕

The NHS hates dealing with these situations. Unfortunately if someone is so drunk they can't stand then there is every opportunity they will choke to death on their own vomi.t The police would call an ambulance in that scenario.

As an aside it's very easy to mistake someone who is on the verge of lapsing in to a diabetic coma as being drunk. It's happened to me before, woman tried to slap me in the face, mumbled some obscenities then fell over and couldn't get up. Luckily I recognised she wasn't pissed and got her a can of fizzy pop. Poor lady was so upset when she started coming round.

Last time I saw someone like that I picked him up. Big mistake. I couldn't get rid of him. Eventually found out where he lived and dumped him in the doorway. Made me late for the pub.

Go back outside with the warm water in the bowl and place drunkards hand in bowl to see if it really does work

better still- put the Alsatian's paw in the water. He'll soon wake up when it pisses on his face

Seen the diabetes thing before, I was asked to eject a "drunk" woman from a shop when I was a security guard, she was falling about the place. 20mins and a choccy bar later she came back looking right as rain to apologise for her behaviour, I felt very bad.

Also had some vigilantes (red berets and everything) call an ambulance for my 2 very very pissed mates outside a club, I was gonna let them come round a bit then get cab/bus home but they insisted on 999, one was fine(ish) other was given a glucose drip to bring him round and had no hangover at all, lucky beggar.

Rob him, set fire to him then post clip on You Tube……