I'm going to say something which may not go down very well: I like the police. There, I said it. So now I might as well explain my thinking before the laughs of derision start.

Last week I had quite a scary experience. I was woken up at 3am on Saturday morning to shouting and hammering in my street - it sounded like a rampant drunk had been locked out of his house. At first I turned over, literally turning the other cheek, assuming the noise was nothing to do with me. How wrong I was. I began to worry when my room then started shaking from the noise. I live pretty much in the attic so even the front door slamming would shake my walls, but the fact that this noise was creeping steadily closer began to disturb me.

So imagine: you've been rudely awoken from a steady slumber - what do you do? Half of me wanted to hide beneath the fluffy duvet and ignore the hammering and incessant cries; the other half wanted to be a good neighbour. Actually I'm lying - the other half of me wanted to see if it would make a good story. Heartless I know, but at three in the morning, who has time for heart?

So what did I do? Well the sound of smashing glass below me and a burglar alarm going off decided it for me. I bounded down the stairs in one big leap... ok, I gingerly tiptoed down the staircase to peek through the curtains.

I was quite stunned to discover the man was hammering on my neighbour's front door, which because it’s right below our living room sounded like he was trying to break into our house.

So I phoned the police. This was the first time I had ever dialled 999 and I was a bit reluctant. What would the police think of a nosy neighbour? Was I being ridiculous calling the emergency services? But pure panic at the thought this guy could start on my door spurred me into action and I'm glad it did.

I imagined I would have to wait half an hour for any sign of the boys in blue. But a short six or seven minutes later two speedy cars pulled up, lights blazing.

They spent a while downstairs before drifting away. I was admittedly disappointed not to see anyone hauled away in cuffs, and I'm still curious as to what happened. I later learned police and paramedics returned an hour later to treat my injured neighbour, so I don't feel too bad about picking up the phone first time round.

So there you go. Haringey police are not all bad. In fact I have not once had a bad experience with an officer so I would say they're actually not bad at all. I was definitely glad to see them at the time, albeit through a curtained window. And I definitely wouldn't hesitate to call them again if necessary.