'I could have fallen further into the crevasse risking serious injury or death...'

We asked you to tell us your stories about times when your mobile phone became invaluable.

We've been overwhelmed with the response. Below are a selection of remarkable stories where a mobile phone has genuinely saved somebody's life:

"The truck side-swiped a fence and the top pipe of the fence came through the windshield and through my sons head
From Kirsten Larsen I was one of the die-hards, refusing to entertain the thought of owning a cell phone, until the day my son was in a serious car accident. My son was a new and very nervous driver. He accidentally drove off the road and panicked, instead of stepping on the brake, he pedalled the gas. The truck side-swiped a chain-link fence and the top pipe of the fence came through the windshield and through my sons head. One of the boys in the car with my son had a cell phone and was able to call for emergency crews to respond. My son spent some time in hospitals and is still undergoing reconstructive surgeries one and a half years later, but is driving again and graduating high school in June. Needless to say, every driver in my family has a cell phone now.

"I was able to phone the police to get the trains stopped before he managed to get himself run down
From Andrew Henderson I was out for a cycle with my wife a few years ago and as we crossed a railway bridge we saw someone walking down the line. I was able to phone the police to get the trains stopped before he managed to get himself run down.

Given that when the police came out on a train to pick him up he stood his ground until the train stopped I don't think he was just taking a short cut...

Of course trying to explain that I wasn't on or near any road to the emergency operator was a little difficult

EO: "Where are you sir?"
Me: "I'm on a bridge over the Edinburgh Glasgow Railway line 2 miles out of Haymarket Station"
EO: "Which road is that on please sir"
Me: "Its not a road it is a footbridge in a park "
EO: "Which Road is that on please sir..."

If I hadn't had my mobile I could have fallen further into the crevasse risking serious injury or death
From Matt Hancock I have just returned from a skiing holiday where I survived a very near miss thanks to my mobile phone. Last Thursday I decided to go Heli-skiing in Italy near the Matterhorn. We took off and had a great flight flying right round the Matterhorn and landed on one of the peaks just behind. We started skiing down in a small group with mountain guides and had a great ski in the virgin snow. When we were three quarters down the mountain we stopped for a 10 minute break.

As we set off again I skied in tracks from the forward group for approx 15 meters then stopped as I saw my group skiing further down the mountain. The guide indicated for me to come around and join them. As I made off again the snow started to give way in front of me and within seconds I disappeared down about five meters into a crevasse. Fortunately my skis did not come off and my left ski broke my fall and I stopped half way down wedged with my left ski and my elbows across the width of the crevasse. All I could hear was the sound of the others skiing off down the mountain. I screamed and there was just silence and the drips from the ice around me. Having composed myself and realising I had no major injury I managed to get my mobile phone from my breast pocked without moving and risking falling further down. I made a couple of calls to my sister-in-law who lives there and to my brother who were able to contact the rescue services and my guides who by now were 20 minutes further down the mountain. The rescue services called me and I was able to guide the helicopter back to where I was so they could rescue me. The guide lowered himself into the crevasse and rigged me up to the ropes so he could lift me out. If I hadn't had my mobile it would have been longer before they knew I was missing, they would not have been able to find me across such a large area so quickly and I could have fallen further into the crevasse risking serious injury or death. As it was my Nokia 6110 saved me big time!

"We were well enough equipped, so we just sat out the night on a ledge"
From Bob Tarzey Three friends and I got stuck up a mountain in 1998. We were in the French Alps near Chamonix on a mountain called the Aiguille du Moine (3412m). We had been having route finding problems and the weather was closing in. We decided to turn back, not far from the summit. We were abseiling back down but it got dark and we could not see if it was safe to continue, even though we had torches – the danger is that you just drop of the end of the rope. We were well enough equipped, so we just sat out the night on a ledge – cold, but not in danger. We had a mobile phone with us and there was a signal. We made two calls – one to the hut we were due to arrive back at, to tell them NOT to send out a search party, that we were stuck, but OK and would be back in the morning; the second to my Dad, because it was his birthday. We eventually arrive back at hut at 10am the following morning and enjoyed a huge breakfast.

Mobile phones have often had bad press in mountaineering circles because they have been used to summon unnecessary help or to rescue poorly equipped parties. I like our story because it shows they can be used constructively to avoid unnecessary panic when a problem has occurred but is under control.

We want to hear more of your tales of life saving mobile phones. And we also want to hear any funny tales you have to tell about instances where a mobile phone was invaluable. Email editorial@silicon.com and we will publish the best.