Kenilworth residents have been asked to "stop wasting precious police time" by accidentally calling 999.

Warwickshire Police has today revealed that in June, of the 8,674 emergency calls received, 1,167 were abandoned - some 13 per cent.

Abandoned 999 calls - where the line is disconnected before the caller speaks - must still be checked by call handlers to make sure no incident is being reported.

The force said the most common type of abandoned calls are caused by someone accidentally 'pocket dialling' emergency services.

Kim Perkin, senior public contact manager at Warwickshire Police, said: "If it is an accidental call, it can waste precious time that could otherwise be spent helping someone with an emergency and potentially saving a life.

"We understand that accidents happen, but we want people to be extra conscious that these mistakes could be putting other people at risk by tying up police resources.

"If you do realise you have dialled 999 accidentally please don't hang up; stay on the line and the call handler can carry out checks to ensure you are safe and well.

"This saves us a lot of time."

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With many smart phones having features to make emergency calls easier, police are also asking residents to check their settings to reduce the chances of accidental calls.

More information on how to avoid such calls can be found here.