Lancashire Police issue warning over hoax calls in run-up to their busiest weekend of the year

Lancashire Police take an average of 900 emergency calls every day - and that number goes up considerably over the New Year weekend.

And while the vast majority of people call them with genuine emergencies they are still seeing a large number of hoax calls.

Over the last year the force control room saw around 2,000 hoax calls, behaviour which put others in genuine need of help at risk because of resources being diverted.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Procter said: “Making hoax calls is completely unacceptable and can be a criminal offence.

“Our control room staff work incredibly hard around the clock taking calls and helping protect our communities and we need our phone lines free for those who genuinely need us.

“Anyone thinking of wasting police time could find themselves at risk of criminal proceedings, although we do of course work with our partners to provide support for those who might need help rather than prosecution.

“My message this New Year is clear - please call us if you need us. We will be there to help those in genuine need of help but if you are thinking of intentionally wasting police time then we will take appropriate action.”

If you need to call police in an emergency - where a crime is in progress or there is a threat to life - ring 999.

In a non-emergency you can report online here or call 101.