WILTSHIRE Police has highlighted the unusually high levels of demand putting pressure on its control centre staff - but it's not the only force facing this problem.
Across the country, forces are under similar strain, comparable having to the amount of calls received on New Year's Eve every day.
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for contact management and assistant chief constable Alan Todd, said: “We are consistently seeing demand on 999 as high as it would be on New Year's Eve and so we’re appealing for people to use the service responsibly.
“999 should only be called in a genuine emergency when you need immediate assistance and not simply because you cannot get through on non-emergency numbers.