Staffordshire Police is urging the public to keep the '999' line free for emergencies.

The force says it is making the plea after taking calls from members of the public about matters such as lost passports, running out of toilet paper and a dog having puppies.

The force says it is currently experiencing a surge in '999' and '101' calls and officers want the public to consider whether or not their call is really an emergency or not.

On average, the local police force receives 19,600 emergency calls, 22,900 non-emergency calls and 10,000 direct messages via Facebook and Twitter, each month.

Emily McCormick, Chief Superintendent for Force Contact and Operations, said: "The last few months have seen seen some of our busiest days in the contact centre, taking the same number of calls as we would on a typical New Year's Eve and we're expecting the rest of the summer to be just as busy.

"Our staff work extremely hard to ensure that those who need help quickly receive it but we're asking the public to help us.

"999 calls will always take priority, as the public would expect, and during times of increased demand, those who are calling 999 to report non-emergencies may consider using other ways to get in touch.

"Our dedicated online reporting section on our website can be accessed for non-emergencies at a time that is convenient for you – 24/7, 365-days-a-year – and your report will be treated in the same way as a 101 call.

"Please also consider whether your call is more appropriate for another agency or service that is not the police."

We reported earlier this year how police bosses have admitted that residents are waiting too long for calls to be answered after the average response time increased in the wake of a surge in demand.

The average time to answer emergency 999 calls more than doubled, from 11.3 to 24.1 seconds, according to performance figures for 2021. And the average wait for a 101 call to be picked up was 614.7 seconds – just over 10 minutes – compared to the 591.4 second average during the previous 12 month period.