More than 160 accidental 999 calls made within 24 hours
Devon and Cornwall Police say they've seen a "significant rise" in accidental dials
Police are asking people to tell their call handlers they are safe, if they accidentally dial 999.
In the last four weeks, there's been a 25% increase in the number of "silent calls" to the emergency services.
Within less than 24 hours, between 12am and 7pm on Sunday 18 June, Devon and Cornwall Police received 169 silent 999 calls.
Superintendent Matt Bourne, of Contact Resolution Command, said: “If you do accidentally dial 999, please don’t hang up. If possible, stay on the line and let the operator know it was an accident and that you don’t need any assistance.
“Silent calls to 999 are never just ignored. Contact Officers will need to spend valuable time trying to call you back to check whether you need help.”
The advice from police, is "if you do dial 999 by mistake, please don’t hang up – just let us know it was an accident and that you don’t need assistance – it will save valuable time for the contact officer, who can then answer a genuine emergency call. "