I believe that the state of the farmhouse phone altered during the course of the incident at whf, in the following manner:-
(1) - the phone was on the kitchen worktop with its handset on its cradle/receiver
(2) - Neville Bamber called Jeremy, call was cut short, receiver possibly depressed, to get a dialling tone
(3) - Jeremy tried to ring Neville back, but kept getting engaged tone
Jeremy kept getting engaged tone because Neville had decided to call the police and was using the farmhouse phone which Neville had used to call Jeremy..
(4) - Neville phoned police, subject of Malcom Bonnetts 3.26am C6 phone log, hence why phone engaged when Jeremy called Neville
Neville called police via an exchange line link
Jeremy tried to ring Witham police station but got no response
Jeremy called Julie Mugford to tell her there was something wrong at home, she told him to go back to bed..
the call to police by Neville at around 3.26am, got terminated for whatever reason and the handset left off the hook, displaying a dialling
(5) - PC West checked farmhouse phone and found it to be engaged after receiving a separate call from Jeremy Bamber at 3.36am
(6) - Operator checked farmhouse phone at 3.42am, reported phone was off its hook
(7) - phone at farm became engaged, possibly making a 999 call
phone remained engaged for up to 8/9 minutes or even longer
(8) - Operator checked farmhouse phone at 3.56am, reported phone was off its hook
Operator found phone at farm off its hook, as described
(9) - phone at farmhouse became engaged at 5.47am
possible request from someone still alive inside the farmhouse for ambulances to be brought to the scene to help the injured, wounded, and dying
(10) - Operator switched phone line at farmhouse to police using the 999 system
two ambulances arrive at the scene (7am), one for use and to go immediately to the house, the second ambulance to remàin parked up in nearby Pages Lane on standby.
As a gesture of goodwill, Sheila placed the anshuzt rifle at the first floor box room window, to show that she was preparing to surrender herself to the police who wete surrounding the farmhouse.
Audio recording made of entire eavesdrop, including entry into the farmhouse, and the shooting incident involving Sheila in the kitchen which was reported as a suicide
(11) - requested that 999 open line be closed down at 7.47am, after only two of the five bodies had been found...
In conjunction with these events, various lights had been turned off and then on, in different rooms of the farmhouse downstairs and upstairs by someone who was still very much alive by the time armed police forced entry into the house at 7.30am!!